We Stand Together
by FalconDot
Summary: Voldemort went after the Potters because of a prophecy. Percy Jackson became a hero because of a prophecy. It wasn't really a surprise to anyone that this story began with a prophecy. So who would've guessed that this one would be so different from the others? Set during OoTP, before HoO. COMPLETE! Sequel up and running!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Some information before the first chapter... This story is set after the war with Kronos, and during Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. The second Great Prophecy about the Seven has not occurred at all. I hope you enjoy it!**

 **No, this will not be like most demigods at Hogwarts stories. Because the Giant War hasn't yet happened, there won't be ten demigods at Hogwarts, making chaos — only two. If you don't like the story by the eighth-ish chapter, I suggest you don't keep reading. But I suggest you read more than the first chapter, because all it is is the intro. So give my story a chance, yeah? :D**

 **Leave a review?**

 **POVs: Harry, Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan._

* * *

Chapter 1

My hearing was over. Dumbledore had left in quite a hurry, for what reason I wasn't sure. I was back at 12 Grimmauld Place, overjoyed and relieved at the fact that I hadn't been expelled from Hogwarts. My use of underage magic to protect Dudley from those Dementors almost two months ago had almost gotten me expelled from my favorite place in the world — my _home_. But now that the hearing at the Ministry was over, and I was back with Ron and Hermione at the Blacks' old home, I sat back and let out a sigh of relief. Ron and Hermione, of course, were overjoyed — incredibly happy, really — that I hadn't been expelled. And Fred, George, and Ginny were all doing some strange jig around the house, yelling "HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF!" to celebrate my "victory" at the hearing. Their dance was severely annoying Mrs. Weasley, who had to constantly yell back at them and tell her sons and daughter to be quiet.

Sirius, I had noted, seemed even more withdrawn and further away from all of the rest of us and the Order of the Phoenix when he got the news that I hadn't been expelled. Hermione seemed to think that he was really lonely, maybe confused about whether I was my father, James, or really me. She even said once that she thought Sirius might have hoped I could have lived with him as an outcast if I got expelled, and I got a bit mad and yelled at her for that.

The end of the summer approached rapidly after my hearing had ended, and I looked back on it. I had saved Dudley from a Dementor's Kiss. I had met the Order of the Phoenix for the first time and was now staying in 12 Grimmauld Place until it was time to go back to Hogwarts. I had not gotten expelled from my favorite place in the world — I was going back as a fifth year in only a week or so. I was sweeping up Hedwig's owl pellets and droppings one day in Ron's and my room when Ron walked in with our booklists, which had only just arrived. Apparently, we only needed two new books for this year: _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5_ by Miranda Goshawk and _Defensive Magical Theory_ by William Slinkhard. Just then, Fred and George Apparated into the room with a loud crack and started speculating on who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Ron gasped, looking at his letter. Fred and George moved to his side and looked at the card, and gasped in unison. " _Prefect?_!" they shouted. Sure enough, a prefect badge slid out of Ron's letter. Hermione burst into the room and declared that she'd been made a Prefect, and was utterly stunned to see that Ron was one as well. And then Mrs. Weasley came into the room, and when she found out that "her ickle Ronniekins" had been made a prefect…

"We'll have to give you a reward for this, Ron! _Prefect!_ What do you want? New dress robes? A new rat?" she exclaimed, bubbling over her son.

"What about a broom?" he asked. "Not expensive, any broom will do," he added when his mother's face fell, most likely thinking about how expensive a broom would be for the family.

"Of course, Ron. We'll get you a broom." She then left, still babbling to herself proudly. Fred and George proceeded to make fun of their younger brother before finally Disapparating with another loud crack. Ron left to tell his mother what type of broomstick he wanted. Hermione took Hedwig to owl her parents about her success. It was only then that I realized how jealous I was of Ron and Hermione. I'd been fighting Voldemort since I was eleven; I'd won the Triwizard Tournament last year and seen Voldemort return. And yet, I had apparently still not impressed Dumbledore enough to be made a prefect.

And then I immediately felt guilty for feeling jealous of my friends. I shouldn't be mean to Ron when he'd finally beaten me at something. I'd done enough; I didn't need to be a prefect to be happy. So when Ron came back into the room, grinning happily at the prospect of a new broom, I congratulated him on his being made a prefect wholeheartedly, all traces of my previous bout of jealousy gone.

* * *

I didn't really have anything to say. Rachel was already getting up, showing no signs of having just given another prophecy. A prophecy directly involving Annabeth and I.

Was I dreaming? I hoped so. If so, I wanted to wake up. I wanted to wake up now.

But no, of course I wasn't dreaming. The one time I wanted to be dreaming, I wasn't. I sighed in defeat and looked out the nearest window, seeing the azure blue sky there. One would have thought that with Kronos's essence scattered to the winds and the furthest corner of the earth one week ago, we'd be able to relax. But _noooo._

My hand made its way behind my back and lightly touched the small of my back. My one weak point. Annabeth, seeing my movement, wrapped her warm hand around mine and tugged my arm away from the spot.

"Well," said Mr. D, at a loss for words for what I presumed was the first time in his life. He spluttered as he tried to form a coherent sentence. Instead, Chiron took over. He crossed his arms and shifted his hooves. _Clip clop_ , they insisted upon the decayed, washed-out wooden floors of the Big House. _Clip clop._

"Can we just ignore it?" I asked hopefully. I didn't want to be the subject of another prophecy. If Rachel tried to spew out one more thing, I'd have to throw her off the cliff, Oracle and all.

"No, Percy, I am afraid we can't do that. It's been well over two centuries that we've had a prophecy that called for specific demigods. We tried to ignore it that time."

"What happened?" I asked innocently.

"They died," Annabeth interrupted, folding her arms over her chest. I rolled my eyes, though I knew that my sarcasm was a show of extreme disrespect. I was just as surprised as she was that they had died in ignoring a prophecy.

I looked back at Rachel, who had sat down on an armchair, looking paler than usual but still donning her normal ripped, faded jeans and tie-dye. I suppressed a shudder, the image of the python called the Oracle of Delphi slithering out of Rachel's mouth and onto the floor imprinted on the inside of my eyelids. I rested my fingers lightly on Annabeth's waist, trying not to come off as too protective. She didn't bat an eyelash at the movement. Her laptop, Delta symbol glowing blue, was held in her arms against her body. She carried the thing everywhere.

We were the only ones in the Big House at the moment — everyone else was attending to their camp duties: flying pegasi, practicing in the arena, scaling the lava rock wall, canoeing in the lake — but we were spending some time away from that at the moment. Not because we wanted to, of course. But because there was a certain Oracle who had just felt the need to spew out another poem today.

"So what are we supposed to do?" She directed her question to Chiron. Rachel's expression was worried, her red eyebrows furrowed as she processed the atmosphere around her. It was full of dread and fear, and why did I know that? Well, as a demigod, I could feel it too. I wouldn't be surprised should rain clouds zoom in and start pouring onto Camp Half-Blood.

Just looking at Rachel caused my mind to flash back to only three minutes ago. Rachel had doubled over, her face turning expressionless and her eyes glossing over, now glowing green. I'd seen it only once before, a week ago, when Rachel had embraced the spirit of Delphi, but it still scared the hell out of me. It reminded me of May Castellan, with her sudden, demonic fits of prophecy. I banished the thought from my head, going over the prophecy Rachel had given instead.

 _"The boy of green eyes, son of the Sea,_

 _Shall help protect the wand-wielding three,_

 _The girl of gray eyes, daughter of the Wise,_

 _Shall help defeat an enemy that cannot die_

 _In a world not mortal, but entirely weird,_

 _Led there by the man with the silver beard."_

"Perce? Percy!"

Annabeth was looking at me again, an eyebrow raised. "I missed that. What again?"

Dionysus gave an exasperated sigh. "Incredible. Well, Peter, if you are so arrogant as to not listen when a god is talking to you… ugh, all right, I'll say it again," he said to the ceiling as thunder boomed.

"We are not really sure what to do yet, Peter. Rachel said that a man with a purple—"

"Silver," Annabeth corrected.

"—yes, silver, whatever, a man with a silver beard was supposed to take you there. Do you see any gray beards around?"

I shook my head stupidly, knowing that if it was a prophecy concerning us, it would unfold by itself.

"Well then, Pedro, we will simply have to wait and see what happens. For now, I suggest you both leave and go back to your duties."

I opened my mouth to protest but Annabeth was already tugging me out of the room.

"I think they're hiding something," she said as soon as we reached the mess hall.

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe they know something about the 'man with the silver beard'."

"Wise Girl, relax. It may be a while before this prophecy unfolds, remember?" I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, laughing.

"Uh-huh," she said skeptically, but a smile was forming on her face already.

"How about we go and do some more planning to redesign Mt. Home of the Gods?"

She nodded enthusiastically, pulling me down for a chaste kiss before sitting down on the bench of a table and opening up Daedalus' computer once more. "How about we don't worry for a while, Seaweed Brain?"

I nodded and sat down next to her, putting my arms behind my head and stretching out. "Now you're talking."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed and followed/favorited! The support helps so much!**

 **POVs: Percy, Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or PJO. They belong to J. K. Rowling and Rick Riordan._

* * *

Chapter 2

I lay in my bunk, listening restlessly to the soft, cool breeze that came from outside through the window and washed over my bare upper half. The crickets chirped loudly outside, and though the sound normally calmed me, I couldn't fall asleep. I stared intently at the glow coming from the brand-new saltwater fountain in our cabin, listening to Tyson snore heavily from his bunk. But even though I was exhausted from the day's events, I couldn't find sleep. I tossed and turned to no avail for several hours — Rachel's new prophecy echoed over and over in my head, so trying to fall asleep was completely fruitless.

 _The boy of green eyes, son of the Sea_

 _Shall help protect the wand-wielding three,_

 _The girl of gray eyes, daughter of the Wise,_

 _Shall help defeat an enemy that cannot die_

 _In a world not mortal, but entirely weird,_

 _Led there by the man with the silver beard._

Every time those haunting words crept through my mind again, I vividly remembered the Spirit of Delphi pouring out of Rachel's mouth like a malicious green serpent. I remembered Rachel's eyes transforming from their normal, mortal blue into two glowing green orbs. Finally, caught somewhere amidst these thoughts, I fell asleep. But the dreams that visited me that night weren't about the prophecy or about the Oracle herself at all.

" _It is time," said a voice. It belonged to a wrinkled old man with half-moon spectacles and a long beard that hung down to his waist. He looked to be easily over a hundred years old. His outfit was the strangest thing I'd ever seen: a long light purple dress robe thing tied with a sash-belt at the waist, a matching light purple cap. Wrapped around the old man was a purple cloak. He was walking rapidly; his pace looked a little too fast to belong to someone as old as he was. Another figure, this one in emerald green robes and a cloak, with a similarly green pointy witch hat on her head, walked at the man's side, matching his brisk pace. Her lips were pulled tight in what seemed an eternal scowl, her light green eyes weary and tired. The woman's silver-streaked black hair was pulled into a tight, strict bun at the nape of her neck; she seemed to be the essence of discipline._

 _The two figures in purple and green walked down a long, torch-lit stone hallway at their brisk pace. As they walked, they continued to speak. "But Albus, are you sure? The boy isn't yet ready, for all we know_ —" _She was cut off by the old man's soft voice._

" _Precisely, Minerva. He and his two closest friends need help if they wish to conquer the Dark Lord. They cannot do it alone; I fear they may die too quickly without help. The boy and girl I have seeked out are perfect."_

 _The woman cloaked in emerald green sighed, her face falling from its strict appearance for a couple of moments. "Very well, Albus. I trust your judgement. Who are these two you have found?"_

" _A boy and a girl, both of age sixteen. They live across the Atlantic Ocean, in the United States of America. Near New York City. I will see how fast I can summon them. They are the answer to our problem." The man spoke with absolute certainty._

" _But do the boy and girl know of this? You have been spying on them, I know. Surely you must have told them of what lies ahead."_

" _Ah, Minerva. I didn't need to. You see, they had their own so-called 'Oracle', which gave them a prophecy just today. The prophecy mentioned the boy and the girl. It mentioned_ our _world. I am positive they are the ones."_

" _When will you retrieve them?" the woman called Minerva asked._

" _Tomorrow. Harry will come along with me to meet them_ — _he is currently residing with the Order of the Phoenix." The man and woman came to an abrupt halt at a door and pushed it open. The night outside was starlit and beautiful, and a warm breeze from the end of summer rushed at them. "Well. I must visit a couple of places before collecting the boy."_

" _Good luck, Albus," the woman whispered. The man turned in a semicircle and vanished on the spot, and all that was left behind was a tabby cat with spectacle marks around its eyes, which slinked back through the heavy doors._

 _Now I was standing in an enormous room, possibly as big as the throne room of the gods. It was candle-lit, but the candles weren't normal_ — _they hovered in midair a couple of yards above everyone's heads. People were everywhere, wearing strange black robes and pointy, brimless black hats and talking to each other. All of them were sitting at four enormous, long wooden tables, each with a banner above it. One was gold and crimson with a lion; the next over was black and yellow with a badger; a blue and bronze banner depicting a bronze eagle was over yet another table, and the furthest one was a emerald and silver banner brandishing a malevolent-looking coiled serpent on it. I shuddered at the sight of it; it reminded me of Rachel's Spirit of Delphi slithering out of her mouth._

 _Suddenly, something large, dusty and smelling of rotten things was placed on my head, covering my eyes. Everyone became quiet at once, and a little voice spoke in my head. It took me a couple of minutes to realize that the hat was talking to me._

" _Hmmm, what will it be for you? Slytherin or Gryffindor? You're a tough one_ — _just like that boy a couple of years ago. Yes… well, I think you will be… SLYTHERIN!" Before I could make sense of what had just happened, I was bustled over to the long table with the green and silver serpent banner over it. A boy of about my age welcomed me coldly, regarding my with striking stormy gray eyes. They were intelligent, but unlike the other gray eyes I was fond of, these were colder, more calculating. I was struck by his appearance_ — _not only his eyes. White-blond hair, slicked back on his head, those gray eyes. I took one more look at the boy before falling back into darkness._

I woke up in a cold sweat, still remembering the cold boy. His gray eyes, just like Annabeth's. Could he possibly be…? He might be tied to the prophecy. But for that moment, I dismissed the thought from my head and went back to sleep, this time free of any dreams at all.

* * *

I was in Ron's and my bedroom, groaning about absolutely nothing while making my bed (without magic, of course, the twins had downright refused to help us). Ron was in the room too, trying to help out and clean the room before Mrs. Weasley could see the mess we'd made and have a heart attack. Pidwidgeon, of course, was zooming around the room for no reason at all, way too full of energy, and annoying my snowy owl Hedwig to death, when we heard a loud _crack_ downstairs. At first, Ron and I dismissed it, thinking that the twins were probably fooling around again, when we remembered that the twins were in Diagon Alley, buying all of their school supplies for their seventh year. Who else would have been Apparating? It definitely wasn't Mrs. Weasley - she didn't find the need to Apparate everywhere. No, it must have been someone else. Someone coming into 12 Grimmauld Place from the outside.

"Harry, dear?" Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs to our room, her voice a bit nervous. "Someone wants to speak with you!" I left the room with Ron right behind me, and clambered down the stairs to find Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Hermione, and Professor Dumbledore standing in the kitchen.

"Oh, Harry, it's wonderful to see you again! You've grown since last year, haven't you?" said Dumbledore, surprising me. He was being unusually friendly for Dumbledore — not that he wasn't friendly, but still. "Now, Molly, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to Harry alone." Mrs. Weasley nodded her head off and left the kitchen, taking Ginny, Hermione, and Ron with her.

"Is something wrong, Professor?" I asked Professor Dumbledore a bit timidly.

"Oh, no. Nothing's wrong, Harry. There is just urgent business that we must discuss." He motioned for us to sit, as if this were his house. I sat down and waited for Dumbledore to speak.

"Harry, I understand the Dark Lord, Voldemort, has returned. He is very much living. But — and do not take offense in what I'm about to say, Harry, but — I do honestly believe that you cannot defeat Lord Voldemort by yourself. Not only will you need your friends, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, but you will need more help, from other people who know how to use magic in ways that I do not even know myself."

"Sir?" I asked, now more confused than ever.

"I have found a pair of young people, just a year older than you, who live in the States, in New York. They live in a world different from ours, Harry, but they are not mortal. Now," continued Dumbledore before I could ask anything, "I do not actually know what they are, or _who_ they are. That is for you to find out yourself. All I know is that they will become very valuable friends to you soon. They are the solution; without them, you cannot defeat Lord Voldemort. You will need their help. I have been… ah, _watching_ them for quite a while now, Harry, and then I heard them receive a prophecy of their very own. It mentioned the wizarding world, and it was then that I became positive that this would work. They are going to come to Hogwarts as "transfer students" and will study magic. They will be there to protect you, Ron, and Hermione, but to also become your friends and help you defeat the Dark Lord. Now, are you following me, Harry? I understand that all of this may come as a bit of a shock to you. It is difficult to grasp."

"Er, sir? I don't quite understand. Why… _how_ did you find them in New York?" I asked, bewildered.

"Ah. Well, you see, ever since the Dark Lord returned last spring, I received a… _message_ of sorts that told me you would not be able to defeat the Dark Lord without the help of other half-bloods. I did not quite understand what this meant, but now I have an inkling. Now, Harry, have you been to Diagon Alley to get your robes and supplies yet?"

The question surprised me. "Er… no, sir, we were going to go this afternoon, but…"

"Very well. I understand that you are very confused, but all will fall into place soon. We will be collecting the half-bloods, a boy and girl, from New York today. Can you please go get Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley and explain the situation to them?"

And so I did. I was more confused and bewildered than ever, but I took Ron and Hermione to our room and briefly explained what was happening. They had no idea what was going on either.

Soon enough, Dumbledore had a hold of all three of us and was ready to take us with side-Apparition, and we left 12 Grimmauld Place with one swish of Dumbledore's wand.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to my reviewers and to all of you who have favorited/followed this story for all of your support! On to the next chapter!**

 **POVs: Percy, Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this story._

* * *

Chapter 3

I woke up before the sun rose, eager and nervous for what the day would come. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt like this — maybe five years ago, when I received my first quest to retrieve Zeus' Master Bolt. I slowly started to remember the two dreams I'd had last night — the one of the man and woman talking rapidly, the other of the talking hat and the cold gray-eyed boy. What had _that_ been about? Suddenly, I didn't feel as excited as before.

I listened to Tyson snoring for a few minutes, then started thinking about the prophecy once again. It was haunting every minute I had to think — those eerie glowing eyes and the serpent that looked so much like the one on the emerald and silver banner in my dream last night.

I slowly shook my head to clear all of the messy thoughts from my brain. I thought about what the old man in my other dream had said — he'd been following us, spying on us. But then he'd mentioned "his world". Could it possibly be that there was another world besides ours and the mortal world?

I got out of bed and pulled on my orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, which was faded from all of the years I'd worn it. The sky was growing lighter, streaks of violent purple and warm orange coloring the now cool blue background. I slipped out the door and closed it quietly as to not disturb Tyson's sleep — as if it would have mattered; he slept like the dead.

I walked around camp, somehow sure that Annabeth was already up, too, but the fields, dining pavilion, archery range, and arena were all empty except for a certain large black hellhound that pounced on me and started licking me all over. Once I finally freed myself from Mrs. O'Leary, luring her away with a huge biscuit, I decided to check the Big House. I needed to speak with Rachel and Chiron about the prophecy.

The sky blue house looked completely lifeless until I walked in — without knocking, which was probably a bad idea, but I had so much on my mind at the time that I couldn't think straight. I instantly knew I should have knocked, because when I entered, it seemed as though I'd walked into one of my nightmares. Rachel Elizabeth Dare was doubled over, her eyes glowing neon green once again and the snake pouring out of her mouth as the triple-voiced Oracle delivered another prophecy.

" _The bearded man will help with the quest,_

 _As the five come together to defeat worst and best_

 _They will all suffer, succeed, prevent, prevail,_

 _And throw evil into the worst of jails_

 _But a word of caution, they must beware_

 _They can't return unless they dare_

 _To take the girl who was once their friend;_

 _Otherwise, their world will never see them again."_

Rachel slumped to the floor, the eerie green light fading away, and her eyes rolled up into her head. I saw Annabeth and Chiron standing beside her, both of their mouths hanging wide open with horror, and realized that mine was exactly the same. What Rachel had just said — or rather, the Oracle — seemed to be a second part to the prophecy that we had heard only yesterday. Two prophecies in two days didn't seem like a very good omen to me. The second I recovered from my shock, I rushed over to Rachel and picked her up. She coughed and opened her now blue eyes, then asked, "What just happened?"

Half shaking, I propped her up on her own feet and looked at Chiron and Annabeth. They were both as speechless as I was. Another prophecy couldn't be good at all, especially if it was tied to the previous one. Finally, Chiron cleared his voice and spoke. "We must discuss this at once. I will summon Mr. D, and we will meet in the war council room. I do not understand this." He looked at me with sad, ancient brown eyes, and then clopped away on his hooves, Rachel following him out of the room.

I walked over to Annabeth, who was shaking like I was. Daedalus's slim silver laptop was tucked under her arm. Her curly blond hair was in a very messy ponytail, as if she couldn't find a hairbrush this morning. I put an arm around her shoulders, even though I was half scared to death as well.

"I don't understand how… how there could b-be two prophecies in two days, Percy. And what does all of it mean? The different world, the man with the silver beard…"

"Well," I sighed, "I might." I told her about my dream, leaving out the part with the silver-eyed boy and the snake banner.

"That's not good, Percy. If someone has been following us, if they know that we already have a prophecy…" I could almost see the cogs turning in her brain. "And what do they mean, "our world"?"

"I don't know. All I know is that this man, whoever he is, is most likely the man with the silver beard," I told her. Annabeth's stormy gray eyes turned to face me.

"I don't know, Percy. Maybe you should tell Chiron." And so I did. I told Chiron, Rachel, and (reluctantly) Mr. D the parts of the dream that I'd told Annabeth. Mr. D almost completely ignored my dream, except for his comment about the man being the "man with the silver beard". He then left, claiming he had to find the Council of the Cloven Elders for a meeting. Chiron, now back in his magical wheelchair, rubbed his forefingers across his lap as he listened to me finish the story. Rachel twirled a strand of bright red hair on her finger, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Finally, Chiron said, "Well, if the man in your dream said that he'd be coming to 'pick you up' in the morning, I'd daresay that he should be coming today. Demigod dreams are usually on poi —"

He was interrupted by a loud bang and a puff of purple smoke. The four of us all coughed, trying to clear the strange, sweet-smelling smoke from our eyes. And then, stepping from the spot where the smoke had come from, emerged a group of strangers.

The first person I immediately recognized. It was the tall, old wrinkled man from my dream, with a glistening silver beard, a lilac tunic and cap, and half-moon glasses behind which two sapphire eyes twinkled with amusement. The rest of the group I didn't recognize. The two boys and girl looked about my age, maybe a year younger. The first had fiery red hair sticking up in almost every direction, as tall as me, with red freckles all over his face. He had light blue eyes and pale skin, a thin nose with a tall bridge, and a crooked smile on his face. I wouldn't be surprised if he was related to Rachel — he looked so much like her, except for the absence of curls in his bright red hair.

The second one, the only girl in the foursome, had curly, bushy dark brown hair framing her face and intelligent brown eyes. She was pale, with some freckles — but not as many as the redheaded boy — and a little shorter than Annabeth was. She regarded us like she was wary that we might spontaneously combust.

The last figure, a boy, looked so much that me that for a second I thought I was looking in a mirror. But then I remembered that I didn't wear circular, black-framed glasses. I was taller than him. And he had a strangely-shaped lightning scar carved into his forehead, right behind his long black bangs. _Maybe a son of Zeus?_ I thought warily. But this boy didn't look like he could be a son of Zeus. His eyes were a startling green, with some amber flecks in it — like sunlight filtering through a canopy of trees.

My attention snapped back to the old man with the waist-long gleaming beard. He spoke with the same voice I'd heard in my dream, surprising all of us. "I suppose you've been expecting us?"

Chiron was so surprised that he didn't even have time to thank the gods that he wasn't in centaur form at the moment. He invited the strangers inside to the war council room, where we all stood around the ping-pong table before the purple-cloaked man spoke. "I understand you are confused. After all, it isn't every day that a group of strangers pop up right in front of you." His blue eyes twinkled with amusement. At first, I thought there was something off with his voice, and then I realized that he had a British accent. "I am so very sorry about popping in so unexpectedly. As I presume, though, you already know who I am?"

I spoke, surprising myself. "Yes. I've seen you…" Annabeth shook her head, telling me not to say anything about my dream. "I've seen you somewhere. But I don't understand who you are and why you're here."

"Ah. Of course. I am Albus Dumbledore, but you may call me Professor Dumbledore. And as I understand it, you have been given a prophecy."

I resisted the urge to ask, _How do you know that?_ , and instead swallowed and said, "Yes. We have."

"Interesting," muttered Dumbledore to himself. "Well, I will tell you that in our world, we have also received a prophecy, though it may not be exactly in the way you have received yours." His eyes darted over to Rachel and back in half a second. I had a feeling he knew how we got our prophecies already. "I do not wish to be rude, but as this is a matter of the utmost importance, I must ask you to recite your prophecy to me. I will tell you my prophecy as well." He looked at me expectantly, and I prayed to the gods for two things: that I wouldn't mess up, and that Rachel wouldn't suddenly start spouting out the prophecy in her Oracle-y way.

" _The boy of green eyes, son of the Sea_

 _Shall help protect the wand-wielding three,_

 _The girl of gray eyes, daughter of the Wise,_

 _Shall help defeat an enemy that cannot die_

 _In a world not mortal, but entirely weird,_

 _Led there by the man with the silver beard._

 _The bearded man will help with the quest,_

 _As the five come together to defeat worst and best_

 _They will all suffer, succeed, prevent, prevail,_

 _And throw evil into the worst of jails_

 _But a word of caution, they must beware_

 _They can't return unless they dare_

 _To take the girl who was once their friend;_

 _Otherwise, their world will never see them again."_ I swallowed, completely relieved that I hadn't messed it up. Apollo must have been helping me remember the words of his Oracle.

There was a long pause before Dumbledore spoke again. "I see. Well, I will tell you our prophecy now:

" _The ones with the power to defeat the Dark Lord_

 _Come from places far away; without their help_

 _The Dark Lord will rise and forever rule a world of terror_

 _Three of them will prevent this from happening,_

 _Along with three others, but if they fail,_

 _The world will fall to eternal peril."_

I scowled. That was the strangest prophecy I'd ever heard. None of the lines rhymed excepting the last two, and even those were strange. Professor Dumbledore interrupted my mental rant against his prophecy to continue his explanation. "You see, these two prophecies are intertwined. Did yours not mention me twice?" I nodded weakly; there was no denying it. "Now, before we enter any further explanations, I feel the need for an introduction. You already know me as Professor Dumbledore. These are Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Ron Weasley and Ms. Hermione Granger," he said, pointing respectively at the boy with glasses, the redhead, and the girl, who all shook our hands.

"I'm Percy Jackson, and this is Annabeth Chase. And Rachel Dare is over here. And this is our teacher, um…"

"Mr. Brunner," Chiron lied smoothly, saving me. He adopted the name he'd held as my Latin teacher all those years ago at Yancy Academy.

"Well, children, if you don't mind, I'd like a word with Mr. Brunner and Ms. Dare. Harry, Ron, Hermione — if you could please explain where we will be taking Percy and Annabeth for me while I speak to Mr. Brunner…" And then Dumbledore, followed by Chiron in his wheelchair and Rachel, left the war council room, leaving Annabeth and I with three people who we barely knew.

"Well," started Harry. He also had a British accent. "Have you ever heard of the wizarding world?"

* * *

It took Hermione, Ron, and I a while to explain the wizarding world to Percy and Annabeth. I could tell they weren't regular mortals, but they weren't wizards either. I couldn't figure out what they were. The lines of their prophecy ran over and over through my head… _son of the Sea, daughter of the Wise._ What could that mean?

They took in all of the information about Voldemort and his followers like they could relate, but it was when we were explaining Hogwarts to them that Percy and Annabeth got most confused. "Wait. You mean to tell me that we'll be going to a school of Wizardry and Witchcraft?" Percy asked.

"Yes. We take multiple courses there, which include Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts…" Hermione trailed off, talking mostly to Annabeth now, who was absorbing all of the information like her life depended on it. I mentally rolled my eyes. Those two were, no doubt, going to be best friends. Percy turned on Ron and I.

"So where do we start out? I know there's seven years, and you are fifth years this school year, but what will Annabeth and I be? We don't know any magic. Well, not really."

I was tempted to ask what he meant by _not really_ , but decided to keep it for later. "Professor Dumbledore said that you'd be starting out as sixth-years, as you're sixteen, but you'll be taking lessons with him to catch up with all of the other magic that you would have learned earlier." Percy nodded in understanding.

"So basically, we're going to a school for wizards and witches, helping you to defeat a Dark Lord who has never been defeated except by you when you were a year old, and learn how to use magic in the process." The way he described it, he could have faced this kind of problem daily. I nodded — there was no better way to sum it up.

Right then, Dumbledore entered the room, followed by a white horse. But then I realized it _wasn't_ a white horse — it was a centaur, half-man and half-white stallion. And the man on top of the horse's body was none other than Mr. Brunner. Which meant that Percy and Annabeth _definitely_ weren't mortals.

"Right, then," said Dumbledore happily, clapping his hands together. "Everything is settled. Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel, we will be leaving today. Pack up all that you have and get ready to visit Diagon Alley."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks to my reviewer and to all you lovely people who followed and favorited. Review!**

 **POVs: Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Diagon Alley, Gringotts, Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and the Olympians._

* * *

Chapter 4

Annabeth and I had a brief talk with Chiron before we left. I wondered about why he'd transformed into a white stallion (well, _half_ white stallion) in front of Dumbledore as he led us back into the Big House. Before I could make any theories, he started talking to us, and a worried frown overtook his kind face.

"We've decided to send Rachel because we are unsure of whether or not she will be giving any more prophecies during your couple-year-long stay at Hogwarts. She gave a continuation of yesterday's prophecy just this morning, and I am not sure as to whether or not she will be giving any more continuations. For this reason, you must take her with you. I hope you understand." The worried look suddenly disappeared from Chiron's face, and he smiled warmly at the two of us, patting each of us on the shoulder.

"I will miss the two of you. Come back to camp over the summers if you can. Oh, and one more thing — if you should find any demigods at Hogwarts, please contact me as soon as possible."

"Of course," Annabeth assured him. And with a final smile, he clopped off further into the Big House, leaving the two of us with nothing but the thought of a journey about to begin.

We walked out of the blue Big House and into camp, where the daily activities were already beginning. We had been inside so long that we'd already missed breakfast at the pavilion. We wouldn't have enough time to say goodbye to the whole camp, as Dumbledore had told us that time was of the essence, and so we walked off in the direction of the cabins, turning our back on the beautiful strawberry fields and azure blue sky over the camp.

I accompanied Annabeth to her cabin first, even though I knew that we should be splitting up to save time. There was no one inside, thankfully, but a strange small bag sat on the floor next to Annabeth's bed, a note from Dumbledore atop it, scribbled in fancy handwriting:

 _Pack what you need and some mortal clothes; we will buy your school robes and supplies in Diagon Alley today._

 _\- Professor Dumbledore_

I didn't see how all of Annabeth's things could fit in the tiny little handbag, but it must have had undetectable magic sewn into it, because she stuffed everything in just fine. Annabeth packed her camp-clothes, some warmer clothes that she had in her dresser in case she needed to stay for the winter, Daedalus's silver laptop, and her Celestial bronze dagger. I couldn't see how that weapon would be allowed at Hogwarts, but I let it pass. There could be monsters anywhere, and we would need Celestial Bronze to fight them.

Right as we were walking out of the Athena cabin, Annabeth holding the small bag, we walked into her half-brother Malcolm. She stopped to say goodbye to him, telling him that Chiron would explain everything, as I walked off towards the Poseidon cabin. Unsurprisingly, Tyson was there. He greeted me and I told him that I had to go somewhere for a while, but that I'd be back next summer.

"I'm sorry, big guy. Are you going back to the forges?"

"Yes!" He clapped his hands together, his big brown eye full of excitement. "We will see each other again next summer." I was glad he hadn't taken it badly. Tyson helped me pack all of my things — which basically consisted of my extra clothes and Riptide — in another small bag from Dumbledore.

I walked outside, where Annabeth was waiting for me, and we both set off towards the top of the hill where Thalia's pine tree stood tall and proud. I looked back once more at the strawberry fields and the campers, the woods and the canoe lake, before turning away and walking up to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Professor Dumbledore. Rachel was already up there with them, standing silently with another bag in her hand.

"Very well. You have all of your things, I presume?" Dumbledore asked us.

"Yes. But, sir, how are we supposed to get to London from here in a day?" Annabeth asked politely, though she probably had a few theories about magic already.

"Oh, we'll be using a Portkey. I'll explain it later. It's all already set up, with some of the help from Ms. Granger here… _non-magic,_ of course... " Hermione blushed slightly. "Anyway. Here it is. Everyone must hold on to it the entire time — never, ever let go." I saw what the silver-bearded professor was pointing at; it was a simple cardboard box with nothing inside. "Very well, then. Everyone, quickly, grab onto the box."

I did as Dumbledore said, though I was utterly confused. What was going on?

Suddenly, I had the strangest feeling as though someone had pulled me up into the air and set me down way too fast. And then the azure blue skies and rolling green hills of Camp Half-Blood were gone. I was standing in the middle of a cobblestone street with small buildings and shops on both sides, an unfriendly gray sky looming overhead. We all rushed to the sidewalk just before a bright red double-decker bus drove past right in front of me.

We were in London.

I barely had enough time to take it all in. We were probably in some more suburban-ish part of the city, with the smaller shops and the cobblestone instead of pavement, but it was definitely London. I found myself staring in awe at the street around me, at the people walking back and forth, until I noticed something odd. In front of our little group was a smallish shop with a sign saying _The Leaky Cauldron_ hanging over the door, but all of the people who passed us on the sidewalk seemed unconscious of the place. Their eyes just slid from the bookshop on one side to the next shop, ignoring the Leaky Cauldron.

"Come, follow me," said Dumbledore, walking to the Leaky Cauldron and entering, then waving at us to follow. Rachel, Annabeth and I immediately ran over to the door and went inside.

It turned out that the Leaky Cauldron was a pub. Dumbledore led us through the dark and shabby shop, staying well away from a couple of intoxicated men in the corner who were laughing their heads off at nothing. He led us out of the bar and into a courtyard with a plain brick wall with a trash can and some nasty weeds next to it. "Are you ready, Percy, Annabeth?" he asked. We nodded silently, wondering what was next. Dumbledore took out his _wand_ and tapped a brick around the middle of the wall three times, and a small hole appeared where the tip of his wand had touched it. The hole got bigger and bigger until, suddenly, it was an enormous arch leading to a curvy shop-lined cobbled street.

"Here we are," announced Dumbledore. "Diagon Alley."

I didn't know where to look first — there were so many wizarding shops — cauldrons, Apothecary (what?), a shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium, a window with broomsticks inside (again - what?), and a million other shops that I would have never seen anywhere else, much less in Manhattan. People bustled everywhere, wearing the same cloaks as Dumbledore was but in a variety of colors, buying things. The only thing unsettling about the place was the WANTED posters everywhere — depicting _moving_ white and black pictures of criminals who I assumed had sided with Voldemort. The posters' pictures were _moving._ As if they were actually videos on paper. I was stunned.

Harry nudged me with his elbow. "I know it's a lot to take in. I felt the same the first time I came here. But first you need money. Speaking of which… Professor Dumbledore, how are we going to get Rachel, Annabeth and Percy money? They don't have vaults at Gringotts," Harry said, turning towards the older man.

"Oh, but you see," said Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling, "they actually do."

Dumbledore led us to a pure white building that was enormous compared to the rest of Diagon Alley. It had large bronze doors, and inside, another equally large set of silver doors, with a warning etched over it:

 _Enter, stranger, but take heed_

 _Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

 _For those who take, but do not earn,_

 _Must pay most dearly in their turn._

 _So if you seek beneath our floors_

 _A treasure that was never yours,_

 _Thief, you have been warned, beware_

 _Of finding more than treasure there._

Rachel frowned at it, then muttered quietly, "It sounds like a prophecy."

We walked in the silver doors, and then were in a huge marble hall, with a long counter seating dozens of little — what were they?

"They're goblins. Don't get on their bad side," Harry whispered in my ear. I gulped.

There were many doors leading out of the chandelier-lit hall, and more goblins coming out of those. Dumbledore led us to the counter and spoke briefly and quietly with a goblin sitting there. The little creature nodded and hopped off his stool, leading all seven of us through one of the side doors and into a dark passageway with what seemed to be two mine carts sitting on rail tracks. We all crammed into the two carts and hurtled off into a series of winding passageways. It was impossible to remember where we were going at the speed we were going at. The cart kept going, deeper and deeper into the ground, until it finally stopped with a lurch. In front of us was a blue-metal door, with a trident over it. That was most likely Poseidon's vault — why he had a vault in the wizarding world I had no idea. The goblin hopped out of the cart and led me over to it, then unlocked the door. I gasped at what I saw.

Mountains of gold and silver and bronze coins were in front of me. At first, I thought that all of the golden coins were the same, but then I realized that some of them were the Galleons that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had told me about, and some were ancient Greek drachmas. I grabbed a handful of drachmas, Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts each, and put them in the baggage-bag I was still holding, then got back into the cart as the goblin locked Poseidon's vault again.

Annabeth's mother, Athena's, vault, was very similar to mine, but it had an owl over it and had silver Athenian coins as well. For what, I didn't know, but Annabeth grabbed some of everything before getting back in the cart. Rachel took some money from Apollo's vault — I hoped he wouldn't be offended.

We then visited Harry, Ron, and Hermione's vaults, where they all took out some money with their keys, and then were whisked back to the upper world by the magic minecart.

We left Gringotts, the wizarding bank, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione explained the wizarding money to us again.

"There's seventeen Sickles in a Galleon, twenty-nine Knuts in a Sickle," said Hermione quickly.

"Right," I said, hoping that I could remember that easily. Before we went into any of the shops, Dumbledore handed each of us a card written in emerald-green ink. It was the list of school supplies for us - the uniform, all of the spellbooks and textbooks for classes, and equipment for those classes. At the bottom was a note saying, IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON JOINING QUIDDITCH OR ARE IN QUIDDITCH ALREADY, IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU SUPPLY YOUR OWN BROOM.

"What's Quidditch?" Annabeth asked before I could.

"It's the wizarding sport. Seven players, all on broomsticks in the air, and four balls —" Ron began, but Hermione cut him off.

"I wouldn't worry about it. If you need a Quidditch broom, they can supply one for tryouts and then you can buy one over the holidays," she explained hurriedly. "Now, should we visit Madam Malkin's first?" We walked over to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to buy our robes and all waited as Madam Malkin, a short plump witch, sized us up to give us our robes. Hermione was the only one who didn't need new robes, as she hadn't grown much since the last year, but Ron and Harry were both much taller. After receiving a brand-new set of black robes for the school year, we all walked into Flourish and Blotts to buy our schoolbooks. Personally, I was a bit bored with the spellbooks, and not at all excited to learn that I would have to read in English again with my dyslexia, but Hermione and Annabeth were already poring over a dozen spellbooks that weren't even on our school supply list. They were getting along really well already, and I wasn't surprised — they were both bookworms, and smart, and loved to learn.

We then needed to buy some ingredients for our potions class at the Apothecary (ohhh, that's what that is). There were tons of jars full of slimy stuff and herbs everywhere, and it smelled absolutely _horrible_. Then we visited yet another shop to buy cauldrons, scales to weigh potions ingredients, and telescopes (for what class I wasn't sure) for Rachel, Annabeth and I, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione all already had their own.

Finally, we all visited the wand shop. The sign on the door said: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. The shop was desolate and dusty, its only inhabitant being Mr. Ollivander, a man with creepy silvery eyes and an even creepier flowing voice. "Hello there, Albus," he said, greeting Dumbledore. "Harry Potter. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple, if I'm not mistaken?" Mr. Ollivander wheeled on Harry, immediately remembering what his wand was. The three wizards had previously explained to all of us the types of wand — different woods, with a core of either unicorn hair, a phoenix feather, or a dragon heartstring.

I was anxious to get my wand at last, but first, Dumbledore had to speak to Ollivander about the circumstances.

"Ah. Very well, then. We will see which wand chooses each of you." Mr. Ollivander turned on Annabeth first. "Your wand arm, please?" Annabeth held out her right arm, looking a bit scared of Mr. Ollivander. I couldn't blame her. After measuring her with a magical measuring tape, Mr. Ollivander took out some boxes from the shelves behind them and handed the first one over to her.

"Let's see, Ms. Chase. How about this one? Cherry, dragon heartstring, nine inches." He handed the wand to Annabeth and told her to wave it. Nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander handed her another wand. "Let's see — oak, unicorn tail hair, nine and a half inches, very brittle…" Still nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander handed her a third wand, this one with the front half in a slight spiral — "Hmm. Maybe this one: ash, phoenix feather, nine and three-quarter inches, flexible…" Annabeth took the gray-brown-colored wand and waved it, and a shot of gray sparks flew out of the tip.

Mr. Ollivander, Dumbledore, and the three wizards all clapped. "Wonderful, wonderful! I have never had a customer whose wand was the third she tried!" Mr. Ollivander cried with delight. Annabeth paid him seven Galleons before he turned to me.

"Ah, yes. Mr. Jackson. Let's see… I have the strangest feeling about your wand…" Mr. Ollivander handed me wand after wand, each one of them different. On the tenth wand that I tried, I had a strange fear hit me. What if I would never receive a wand and would just keep waving them until the man with the silvery eyes said, " _Nope, sorry, I guess you don't have a wand."_? By the eleventh wand, I was really worried. "Here. Sycamore and sea-dragon heartstring, eleven inches, slightly bendy." I took the half-knotted wand and swished it, and a burst of blue-green sparks came out of the end, signaling my success. I only then registered what Mr. Ollivander had said about the wand.

 _Sea-dragon heartstring._ I started laughing internally at the irony of it all before paying seven Galleons for my wand and watching as Rachel tried for hers. It turned out to be black walnut and unicorn tail hair, nine inches, surprisingly swishy. We finally walked out of the dusty wand shop and into the sunlit Diagon Alley.

"Well, we have everything that your list requires, unless you wish to buy a pet," said Dumbledore, signaling towards Eeylops Owl Emporium. Annabeth and I both nodded, while Rachel stood stubbornly. She sent me a look that said, _no way am I getting a magical pet too._ I shrugged at her.

We walked into the Owl Emporium, and Annabeth was immediately attacked by none other than owls. They were all over her, maybe thinking that she was their queen and that they needed to protect her, flocking around her until she was just a figure of feathers and dark black eyes. One of them, a great horned owl, seemed to want to nest in her hair. It took a while, but with all of us, we managed to get the owls away from Annabeth and back into their cages. By then, her hair and mouth was full of feathers, but at least she hadn't been scratched by any talons.

We chose our pets — Annabeth a beautiful black great horned owl, the symbol of her mother, Athena, and I a sleek black cat with green eyes. Rachel refused to buy a pet, standing by the door as she waited for us.

By the time we were completely done with all of our shopping, it was almost already two in the afternoon. We followed Dumbledore out of Diagon Alley and back into the Leaky Cauldron. "Well, this day has been a lot of excitement, children. Until the start of term in a week, you will be staying with all of Ron's relatives, the Weasleys, and Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, at 12 Grimmauld Place. We will be taking a Portkey back there, and then I will leave you. Rachel, Percy, and Annabeth, I will be teaching you the basics of magic to get you caught up to where you should be as sixth-years. Any questions?"

"Just one, sir," said Annabeth. "How do we get to Hogwarts?"

"Ron, Harry, and Hermione will explain it all to you. Are you ready to take the Portkey?" And so we all grabbed onto a pot and were whisked away once again by magic.


	5. Chapter 5

**POVs: Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, PJO, or any scenes from_ _The Order of the Phoenix._

* * *

Chapter 5

"So the Order is trying to convince the rest of the wizarding world that Harry is telling the truth about Voldemort, and the Ministry is trying to convince them that Harry is full of himself and just wants more attention?" I asked, sitting on the floor of the bedroom that Ron, Harry and I shared. We were all finishing with packing our stuff for the school year in trunks that we'd been given. Ron had only recently told me about how he and Hermione had been made prefects at Hogwarts — some sort of leader of the house, and I watched as he stuffed his prefect badge into his trunk, often taunted by the twins, who apparated and disapparated from the room every few minutes.

Now we were discussing the _Daily Prophet,_ the wizarding newspaper, and the lies they were spreading about Harry. "Basically," said Harry. "Fudge is a downright idiotic bastard. It's not like I _wanted_ to be famous! My parents were killed by Voldemort, but I survived, and yet they still think I'm a vain fraud, like Lockhart was!" I was already used to Harry getting upset like this; he had been doing it for almost the whole week that Annabeth, Rachel and I had been staying at 12 Grimmauld Place. I didn't ask who Lockhart was — probably another delusional wizard Harry had met in the last four years.

I still remembered when Dumbledore had first introduced us to the Order of the Phoenix; Molly and Arthur Weasley, Ron's parents, Sirius Black, Harry's father's best friend, godfather, and a fugitive under the Ministry of Magic even though he was innocent; Lupin, who was once a professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts and also one of Harry's father's best friends (oh and also a werewolf, who knew?); Nymphadora Tonks, who was a Metamorphmagus, which meant she could change her appearance at will; and a number of other wizards who worked at the Ministry of Magic as Aurors (thankfully, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had all explained the Ministry of Magic right after so we wouldn't get too confused).

Then there was the rest of the Weasley family: Bill, the oldest, who worked with goblins at Gringotts; Charlie, who worked in Romania with dragons; Fred and George, two twins who had only just come of age (in the wizarding world it's at age seventeen, not eighteen) and used magic for everything; and finally Ginny, Ron's only sister and the youngest of the family.

The last Weasley I hadn't actually met, but the others told me in secret when their parents weren't around. "Then there's Percy. Don't mention him in front of mum and dad," Fred had told me. It was the first time I'd seen him so grim and depressed. "It's not good. He's left us and gone to work at the Ministry, and now they try not to think of him." And that was all I'd heard about the matter. It certainly explained why Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had looked like they were about to cry or break something when I'd first introduced myself to them. I must have not looked anything like Percy Weasley, but his name was the same as mine.

Now, the sun was setting as we packed our last things. Tomorrow we were off to King's Cross, in London, where there was a magical steam engine called the Hogwarts Express that would take us to the wizarding school. Annabeth, Rachel and I were going to stay all year. I was eager to finally not have to enroll in another private school that I'd probably get kicked out of anyway, and instead have a home for the winter. And assuming we survived this, we might go back next year too.

Rachel was ecstatic — she had talked to her father and wasn't going to attend St. Clarion's, though I still couldn't understand how she'd become a registered wizard, with her being a mortal (Muggle) and all. It probably had to do with her clear sight through the Mist and the Oracle's spirit within her. If that wasn't magical, I didn't know what was. I had made sure to talk to my mother and Paul to tell them I was on another quest and that I'd be back for the summer, but I hadn't been allowed to give them certain details.

I watched the twilight dwindle and fade into darkness through the open window of our shared bedroom as I finished packing my trunk and shut it. Pidwidgeon, Ron's crazy owl, was flying around in his cage way too energetically, twittering madly, while Hedwig, Harry's snowy owl, watched with a slightly amused interest. My sleek black cat, which I'd decided to name Poseidon, jumped up on my bed and curled up, closing his sea-green eyes and purring.

I flopped down on my makeshift bed, petting Poseidon, exhausted and ready to get some sleep before tomorrow. My plans to sleep were thwarted, however, when Hermione, Ginny, and Annabeth all burst into the bedroom, shocking Harry out of his raged rant and nearly giving Ron and me heart attacks.

"Are all of you packed and ready?" asked Hermione with a slightly eager tone, holding her fluffy ginger cat, Crookshanks, in her arms. Annabeth's owl, Merlin, was perched on top of her head like a guardian, but Annabeth didn't seem to mind even when he took off, fluttering his black, beige, and gray feathers, and landed next to Hedwig.

"Blimey, Hermione, you nearly killed me of shock right there!" Ron shouted at her, rubbing his chest. "What's gotten into you?"

"Well, I thought we'd just give Percy and Annabeth one last explanation. We haven't yet told them how to get to the train tomorrow. And the Sorting Hat! And I might daresay that you would be ridiculously thrilled to tell them about Quidditch, am I right?" All of Hermione's words rang a faraway bell in my mind, but none of them had yet explained what any of those things were, even in our entire week at the Blacks' old house. Mrs. Weasley had kept us fairly occupied with finishing the cleaning of the house, since the house elf Kreacher (I almost killed him with Riptide the first time I saw him, thinking he was a monster) did next to nothing to help.

All that they had explained were the classes at Hogwarts, the teachers (there had been a bit of complaining), the Ministry of Magic and the _Daily Prophet_ (even more complaining), their previous four years at Hogwarts, and Voldemort/Harry's story, but otherwise, they hadn't gone over the minor details.

Obviously, a bit of speculation had happened now and then on how Dumbledore would get us caught up on five years' worth of studying magic too, but that didn't count as an explanation.

Ron's blue eyes immediately lit up at the mention of Quidditch — he was obsessed, honestly — and almost started to explain the entire sport to us before Harry interrupted to ask, "Where's Rachel?"

"She's with Sirius," said Ginny with a slight undertone of disinterest. I wasn't surprised. Rachel had inexplicably and quickly bonded with Sirius Black, and now spent most of her time around him when she wasn't with us. "And Ron, before you start talking about Quidditch, let us explain the other more important things in life."

Ron _harrumphed_ and sat back down as Hermione began to explain how to get to the Hogwarts Express. "Here are your tickets. Dumbledore gave them to me to give to you," she said, handing us each a brown-rimmed slip of paper that said, _Hogwarts Express, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, 11 o' clock sharp._ I stared.

"Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?" I asked, confused.

"Exactly." Hermione gave Ron a scathing stare, as if to show him that we really needed to know how to get to the train tomorrow. "The Hogwarts Express is hidden from Muggles — mortals, remember? — so to get through you'll have to run through the wall barrier between platforms nine and ten. Since you're now a registered wizard, you'll be able to get through the barrier and onto the other side." I stared at her, utterly bewildered. Did she just tell me that I had to run at and _through_ a _wall_? "It'll be easier to understand once you're there," she added hastily. "Don't worry, you'll be just fine."

"Now, as for Quidditch —" Ron started again, but Hermione interrupted him with another scalding stare that reminded me of Medusa. As quickly and immediately as that thought had popped into my brain, I pulled away from that track of thoughts - thinking about my demigod life and Camp Half-Blood wouldn't do me any good right now. Annabeth and I still hadn't told the wizards exactly who we were — we'd both agreed to wait for the right time. All that they knew right now was that we had once practiced magic, but a different type of magic than they were accustomed to, and we were a bit scared they wouldn't believe we were wizards after that. The only people who knew about our being demigods besides us was Rachel, although I had a feeling that Dumbledore knew too.

" _Ronald!_ We still need to tell them about the different houses at Hogwarts and about the Sorting Hat!" she huffed at him angrily. "Annabeth, you might already know this, since you've been reading my copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ , but I'll still need to explain to Percy." Annabeth nodded eagerly, her gray eyes excited. I wasn't surprised she already knew — after all, she was constantly coming to me with information about the wizarding world that she'd read in numerous magical textbooks that Hermione had lent her, and had already become a very good friend of Hermione's. The two were such… well, _nerds_ , that I wasn't surprised and had actually expected them to become good friends.

"Alright, well, there are four houses at Hogwarts, and students are sorted into their House by the Sorting Hat — I'll explain that later. The four houses are each defined by a set of different characteristics. There's Ravenclaw, which is the house of wit and wisdom. Their motto, as I believe, is, _wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure_ '. They value learning and knowledge, of course. Ravenclaw's symbol is an eagle, and their colors are blue and bronze.

"Then there's Hufflepuff, who value kindness, justice, and honesty. They're the ones most likely to kill you with hugs and smiles. Their symbol is a badger, and their colors are yellow and black. They're not too keen, but they make up for it with their attitudes. Hmm," she stopped and pondered for a second. "I wonder why Ron wasn't in Hufflepuff?" she said, trying to hide a smile.

"Hey!" he protested. "The rest of my family was in Gryffindor, how could I not be?"

"Which brings me to the next house. Gryffindor, ' _where dwell the brave at heart'_. We —"

"How do you still remember, that, Hermione? That was our first year, when the Sorting Hat sang its song!" Harry asked her, incredulous.

She blushed. "I don't know, I just remember things like that. Anyway, the three of us are in Gryffindor, and now, as you know, Ron and I are Gryffindor prefects."

"If I didn't know better, I would have thought that you were in Ravenclaw, Hermione," I told her, even though I'd already known for awhile that she was in Gryffindor.

"Oh, lots of people think that. The Sorting Hat even considered putting me into Ravenclaw, but eventually decided bravery outranked knowledge for me," she said brightly.

"Wonder how that happened," Ron muttered under his breath.

"So, as you've seen while we've packed our school clothes, you already know that the Gryffindor symbol is a lion and the colors are crimson and gold. Alright, well, the last house is Slytherin. Everyone knows it's the darkest of the four houses. Almost all of the wizards and witches who were sorted into Slytherin house joined and followed You-Know-Who. You-Know-Who himself went to Hogwarts and was in Slytherin himself." As Hermione said this, I remembered my dream from almost an entire week ago, with the cold emerald and silver banner and the serpent's red eyes staring straight at me. The thought made me shiver unconsciously.

"Slytherin are cunning, and most all of them are pure-bloods, which means that all of their ancestors were witches and wizards," Hermione continued. "The colors of Slytherin are emerald and silver, and the symbol is —"

"A serpent," I finished for her.

Hermione gaped at me, but said nothing. "The four houses were created by the four founders of Hogwarts: Helena Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Sly —"

"OUCH!" Harry yelled, slapping his forehead with his hand.

"Harry, is it your scar again?" asked Hermione with concern.

"Yeah, it doesn't matter though, these days it's always prickling…" I recalled the story of how Voldemort had tried to kill Harry as an infant but couldn't, and left the lightning-bolt-shaped scar on his head. Hermione, Ron, and Harry had all told Annabeth, Rachel and I about their past four years at Hogwarts, sometimes with help from Ginny and other members of the household. From hearing the summaries of their four years, from the Sorcerer's Stone and Quirrell, the Chamber of Secrets and Tom Riddle's memory, to Peter Pettigrew, Sirius' escape from Azkaban and the Dementors, and the Time-Turner, and the Triwizard Tournament, the fake Mad-Eye Moody, and Voldemort's return to life in the graveyard, I had finally realized how much these three had faced in the past couple of years. I had also realized just how powerful and feared Voldemort was.

"Harry, if your scar is acting up again —"

"It's fine, Hermione!" he retorted, his hand still rubbing his scar. "Just go on with the story."

Reluctantly, Hermione turned back to us. "So that's the story of the houses. The Sorting Hat is a magical hat that can read all of your traits when you put it on, and by doing so, decides which house you belong in. I hope you all get in Gryffindor!" she said, excited again. "I think you'll be sorted into your house privately with Dumbledore, since you are exchange students and the Sorting Hat sorts only first years on the first night of term. Anyway —"

"A- _hem!_ " Ron cleared his throat loudly.

"Yes, fine, Ron, go ahead and explain Quidditch," Hermione sighed.

"So, Quidditch is the only sport in the wizarding world. There's seven players on each team —" Just then, Rachel walked into the room, followed by Fred and George Weasley.

"Hello, all of you. What's going on?"

"Just giving some final advice to Percy and Annabeth," explained Hermione. "Erm, sorry, Rachel. We didn't want to disturb you."

Rachel waved it off, her frizzy red hair bouncing frivolously. "Don't worry. I already know what you were discussing. Sirius was telling me just today. He explained Quidditch, but didn't say much about it. I'd like to listen, if you don't mind." Fred and George followed her in, holding what looked like a double-colored pill.

"And what are _you_ two up to?" Hermione asked critically, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, nothing for you to know about," they said in unison, then winked at Harry, who tensed. I wondered what was going on there, but soon turned my attention back to Ron, who was talking about Quidditch once more.

"... four balls, the Quaffle, which needs to be shot through one of the three hoops at each end of the field to score 10 points. There's two Bludgers, which are used to knock players away from the Quaffle and off their brooms. And then there's the Snitch — the smallest of the balls" — he held up his fingers in a small circle to show the size — "it's golden and really fast. When the Seeker catches it, the game ends, and the team whose Seeker caught it gets 150 points. The seven players are the Keeper, two Beaters, three Chasers, and the Seeker. The Keeper tries to prevent the Quaffle from going through any of the three goal hoops — they have to protect the three hoops, you see — the Beaters —"

"That's us on the Gryffindor team!" interrupted Fred and George.

"Yes, yes, they're the Beaters. Anyway, the Beaters have a club each and have to hit the Bludgers in the direction of the opposite team's players. Then the Chasers are the ones who need to pass the Quaffle back and forth and get it through the other team's hoops to score…" I kept listening intently, but watched as Annabeth and Hermione pulled out their books in disinterest and started to comment on each other's reads. The two sat down on a plush chair in the corner of the room and started to read intently, Hermione with a copy of _Counter-Curses and Jinxes: How to Pass Your O.W.L.s,_ Annabeth curled up with _One-Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi._

"Then there's the Seeker. Harry's Seeker for Gryffindor. They have to catch the Snitch to end the game. Harry was the youngest Seeker in a century when he joined the Quidditch team in first year," Ron was saying. He went on to describe international Quidditch teams, but I asked him a question before he could get too far.

"Do you know what positions are open this year?" I asked Ron, for some reason addicted to the idea of joining the Quidditch team.

"For Gryffindor? I dunno. Harry?"

"Well, Oliver Wood left, and Alicia did too, so there's Keeper and Chaser open for Gryffindor. But, first you need to be sorted. If you don't get into Gryffindor, that's not much help."

"Hey, Harry, I think I might try out for Keeper this year! I mean, now that I've got my own broom!"

"That would be great!" said Harry enthusiastically. The two, Ginny, and the twins started talking eagerly about this year's Quidditch season, while Rachel walked over to sit with Hermione and Annabeth and asked about what they were reading.

I looked back out of the window, stroking Poseidon as he purred. It was getting pretty dark, the half-full moon glittering in the night sky next to all of the stars. I was half-asleep on my bed when everyone finally decided it was time for bed. Annabeth, Ginny, Rachel, and Hermione all bid us good night, Annabeth giving me a brief kiss before she left, Merlin once again on her head. Fred and George, after a great deal of whistling and catcalling because of Annabeth kissing me, left as well, laughing to each other.

Harry, Ron, and I were the only ones left in the room, along with Pidwidgeon, Hedwig, and Poseidon. "How long have you and Annabeth been dating?" Harry asked me.

I felt my face growing red. "A couple of weeks, but we've known each other for five years," I said shortly. Nor Harry or Ron said anything else as we all changed into our bedclothes and got into bed.

Harry and Ron both quickly fell asleep, Harry tossing and turning occasionally, mumbling things to his scar, but I was used to it. I turned over onto my side and slipped my hand under my pillow, where I kept Riptide, and felt oddly calmed at the familiarity of its cool Celestial Bronze metal. I slowly fell asleep, thinking about the trip to Hogwarts tomorrow, and for once, my dreams weren't haunted with images of the serpent, the cold white-faced, red-eyed wizard I took to be Voldemort, or Rachel's prophecy. Instead, I peacefully dreamt of my memories of Annabeth helping me out of the River Styx and of all the happy times at Camp Half-Blood, unconsciously highly anticipating the morning to come.

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 **A/N: Review?**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hope you enjoy!**

 **POVs: Harry, Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or PJO, or any scenes from the_ _Order of the Phoenix._

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Chapter 6

I woke up with my scar prickling menacingly, having dreamt about the dark hallway and the door at the end of it again last night. There was a sharp tapping sound somewhere in the back of my mind, and as I rose to full consciousness, I realized that someone was rapping hard on the door. Not too soon after the knocking started up, I heard Mrs. Weasley yell, "GET UP, YOU THREE!", startling Ron and Percy awake.

Ron rubbed his tired blue eyes, and shouted back, "We're up, mum!"

At this, Mrs. Weasley calmly said through the door, "Can you please hurry up and get dressed? We have to leave soon! It's almost nine o' clock!"

"Blimey," Ron growled after we heard Mrs. Weasley making her way across and down the hall to wake up the girls. "She needs to calm down, or she'll rip our heads off."

The three of us got dressed in our Muggle clothes quickly. Percy slipped a long, slender bronzish-looking object into his front pocket along with his sycamore wand (it looked like a pen), and picked up his trunk. He was a lot stronger than he looked; I would have bet ten Galleons that Percy could lift fifty pounds with his slender but muscular arms. Maybe they trained in physical magical combat from where he came from. Percy's black and light brown-gray spotted tortoiseshell cat, Poseidon (I still couldn't figure out why he'd named his cat after a Greek god), hopped onto Percy's trunk as he walked out of the room, carrying his completely full trunk.

Ron and I looked at each other, slightly amused at Percy's nonchalance at carrying an entire trunk with just his arms, and dragged our own out of the room, carrying our owls' cages in our other hands. Hedwig hooted reproachfully as I bumped her cage repeatedly on the walls and my trunk. "Sorry, Hedwig," I muttered to her as I took all of my things downstairs, almost crashing into Fred and George's trunks, which were hovering down the stairs dangerously.

"We didn't want to hold them," explained George quickly when I gave him a questioning look. The trunks crashed into Ginny halfway down the stairs and knocked her down two flights. Mrs. Weasley's screaming was heard all around the house, waking up Sirius' mum's picture, who also started wailing insults. By the time I got downstairs, Mrs. Weasley was fixing up Ginny's now crooked, bleeding nose and her tangled bed-hair. Percy had put his trunk right next to the front door, and was helping Annabeth with hers. Hermione was helping Mrs. Weasley fix up Ginny, brushing and braiding Ginny's long red hair down her back.

Rachel was standing next to Sirius, talking to him in a low voice and occasionally looking over at Percy and I. Ron finally appeared downstairs, lugging his trunk, which had the end of a gold and red Gryffindor scarf sticking out of one of the sides, behind him.

"Harry, dear, and Percy" — I realized how much effort it took Mrs. Weasley to say this — "you'll be coming with Tonks, Ginny and I. Annabeth, Hermione, Ron, you'll be with Moody and Arthur. Fred, George, Rachel, you'll be with Lupin and Kingsley. Don't get into too much trouble. Oh, for heaven's sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said you couldn't come with us!" Sirius had transformed into an enormous shaggy black dog next to me, and had his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"Fine, but it's your own fault if you get captured!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Alright, Percy, Harry, come along, we have to go." Sirius bounded along next to me in dog form as we left our trunks behind us for Moody to take to King's Cross. Tonks was waiting for us, having changed her appearance to that of an old purple-cloaked witch. We all had to walk all the way to the train station, since we lacked cars and enough brooms, and Portkeys and the Floo Network were now being watched, and by the time we reached the station half an hour later, I was winded and tired, even though the September weather was chilly and barely sunny. Percy, however, looked completely energetic, as if he could have run the entire way to King's Cross instead of walked.

When Mrs. Weasley mentioned to Percy how to get onto the platform again, he nodded tersely, looking unsure of himself. "Very well. Percy, you go with Harry, we'll follow you right after." Percy looked at me.

"It's really easy. Just walk towards the wall, maybe run if you're nervous, and you'll pass right through it. Don't worry, just do it," I told him. We both ran at the wall, followed by Sirius in dog form, and passed right through it and onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Percy looked around himself in amazement: at the scarlet steam engine with the letters saying Hogwarts Express, at the large amount of wizards and witches shuffling about and getting on the train, at the owls that flew overhead and the cats that walked through everyone's legs.

"Welcome to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters," I told him.

Soon after, everyone else showed up, as did Moody, pushing a cart with all of our trunks in it. He handed each of us our cases, his magical blue eye whizzing disturbingly in its socket. "I don't think we were followed. We'll be alright." He eyed Sirius skeptically. Lupin, Moody, Tonks, Mr. and Mrs Weasley all bid us goodbye, telling us to take care of ourselves and wishing Annabeth, Percy, and Rachel a good first year, before we all got on the train. Sirius padded along with us, whining at me when I stepped on. "I'll see you later, Snuffles. And I'll send lots of letters." Sirius barked once happily at me before getting off the Hogwarts Express. All of us waved out the window at the members of the Order, and Sirius chased after the train as it started to move, barking and wagging his tail, and then we turned around a corner and Platform Nine and Three-Quarters disappeared.

Fred and George disappeared hastily, saying they were going to talk with Lee Jordan, leaving the rest of us standing in the middle of the corridor. "Let's go find a compartment," suggested Ginny.

"Hermione and I have to go up to the prefect compartment, we'll find you all later," Ron informed us before leaving us and heading towards the front of the train, leaving me, Ginny, Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel to find a compartment. I felt odd; I'd never ridden the Hogwarts Express without Ron, but this time I had Percy, Rachel, and Annabeth with me as well.

"Well, I'm going to find my friends. See you all later!" said Ginny, grabbing her trunk and wandering off. Rachel decided to follow her instead of us. Percy, Annabeth, and I all walked down the train, looking for an empty compartment, but all we found was one with a white-blond pale girl with strange glasses and radish earrings. She was reading a magazine upside-down for some strange reason. I asked the girl if we could sit in the compartment with her. She nodded, returning her gaze back to the magazine, which was called _The Quibbler._

"I'm Luna Lovegood. Fourth-year Ravenclaw. Who are all of you?" she asked in a slightly dreamy, mesmerized voice.

"Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Annabeth Chase," I introduced all of us to Luna Lovegood as we all put away our trunks and sat down. Poseidon was making himself comfortable on Percy's lap, once again, while Annabeth had let Merlin out of his cage and allowed him to perch on her shoulder instead of her head.

"So, you're Harry Potter," Luna said. It was a statement, not a question. Her piercing gray-blue eyes were just visible over the top of the upside-down _Quibbler,_ and her pale eyebrows were raised in neither shock nor surprise, but rather expectancy.

"Er… yes," I responded, not sure what to say. Would Luna be one of those people who had soaked in all the lies about me in the _Daily Prophet_ this past summer holiday? Or would she be on my side and believe my story of Voldemort returning?

"Oh. My father's the editor of _The Quibbler_ , and he believes that all the articles criticizing you and Professor Dumbledore in _The Daily Prophet_ are rubbish. Have you ever read _The Quibbler_?" Luna asked a bit carelessly. I shook my head dumbly; I'd never even heard of the magazine. Percy went as straight as a ramrod, his eyes on the compartment door. The door opened, and in strutted Draco Malfoy.

* * *

I recognized the boy at once; it was the one from the dream I'd had my last night at Camp Half-Blood. He had the same almost white, sleek blond hair pushed smoothly back over his head and thin, pinched face. But what scared me the most were his eyes; cold, gray, and like forbidding crystals, they gleamed with a certain intelligence like Annabeth's did, but they held none of Annabeth's warmth and love. This boy's stormy gray eyes were completely hard.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" asked Harry brutally. I immediately knew that Harry didn't get along at all with the other boy, Malfoy, who sneered at the comment.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, Potter. I'm a prefect now, and you wouldn't want to get detention from me, now, would you?" he snarled with an evil smile on his face. Two large, burly boys appeared on either side of Malfoy. They were much larger than them, with arms as thick as books, but from the dumbfounded look in their eyes, I could assume that they were a lot more stupid than they were strong and bullyish. Malfoy suddenly turned his eyes onto Annabeth and I.

"Who're these, Potter? Your new friends? I wonder how you got them, after all of the rumors about you in the _Prophet_ this past holiday. I bet that no one likes you anymore except for that dirt-poor, blood-traitor Weasley and that _filthy_ mudblood Granger," Malfoy sneered at Harry, then looked straight at me.

"If you ever find yourself in need of new, better friends than Potter here, I'd suggest you find me," Malfoy said, and I stood up really fast, my right hand closing around the ballpoint pen in my pocket. I'd dealt with bullies for years, and this new one wasn't going to get the better of me or any of my friends. I suddenly thought about how much I would love to see the look on Malfoy's face at the sight of my Celestial Bronze sword.

Harry, who must have thought I was about to draw my wand, yelled, "No, Percy!", but I took out the ballpoint pen anyway. Annabeth, who had been somewhat calm until this point, stood up next to me and grabbed my sword arm before I could uncap Riptide. "Percy, it won't do anything to him. Calm down," she whispered in my ear fiercely and sternly.

Malfoy didn't look the slightest bit unnerved. "What were you planning on doing, Jackson? Writing on me?" He guffawed, and the two large boys next to me laughed stupidly, before walking out of the compartment, saying, "Watch your back, Potter. I might just give both of you detention." Then, with another flash of his dark robes, the boy was gone.

"That git…" muttered Harry under his breath. "He's Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin, and a pureblood, he's so full of himself, always putting others down, Percy, just ignore him…" But I wasn't listening to Harry. I was watching Annabeth, whose eyes were wide open, her mouth dangling open in shock.

"What is it, Annabeth?" I asked her, wondering if the Malfoy boy was possibly a half-blood that Annabeth had recognized. But instead, she asked me,

"Did you tell him your last name, Percy?"

"No, why…? Oh my gods…" I said, realizing what she meant. Malfoy had called me Jackson, though he didn't even know my name, and the only people who knew my full name in this world besides my friends would be monsters.

Then I shook my head, trying to clear the thought. Malfoy couldn't be a monster. He was a regular human. Well, as regular as pureblood wizards were…

Harry was still muttering to himself, angered all over again. Then to me, he said, "Those cronies with him are Crabbe and Goyle, they're both idiots, only do what Malfoy ever tells them to… I hope he gets loads of detention from McGonagall this term."

"Who's McGonagall?" I asked, desperate to change the subject.

"The Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House," was the response I got, but it didn't come from Harry. Luna Lovegood, who for the past couple of minutes I had completely forgotten was sitting with us, was looking at me avidly, having for once put down her magazine, her radish earrings swaying back and forth. "You know that you'd be expelled if you used magic —"

But before she could finish her sentence, Hermione and Ron bustled into the compartment, both already dressed in their Hogwarts robes. "Ugh," Ron started. "Prefect duty is horrible. We have to patrol the corridors from now and then. Hopefully I can catch Malfoy and give him some detention for being a pain in the arse the past couple of years."

"But Ron, you can't, he's also a prefect, and prefects can't give each other detention," said Hermione shrilly.

"Whatever. I'll go after Crabbe and Goyle, then. What's up, Harry?" he then asked, as if he'd just noticed us.

"Malfoy just came around to our compartment, threatened to give both of us detention, and Percy was about to attack him with his wand —" Harry said, but I interrupted him mid-sentence.

"I was not!" I said indignantly. "I only wanted to scare him off! Hope I'm not in Slytherin, that idiot would be hard to deal with constantly." Annabeth, who was looking a bit concerned at the fact that I wanted to scare someone who wasn't a demigod with a sword that could only hurt a demigod, scooted closer to me on the seat and wrapped an arm around my waist, shuffling a disgruntled Merlin off of her shoulder.

"You won't be in Slytherin, Percy, you'd never be as rude and arrogant as… um, Draco… just was. You'll probably be in Gryffindor," she reassured me. I nodded, not thoroughly convinced.

"And who're you?" asked Hermione, seeing Luna for the first time. The thin, pale girl had disappeared behind an upside-down _Quibbler_ once again, but her eyes weren't moving across the page anymore, and her thin eyebrows were now in a straight line on her forehead.

"I'm Luna Lovegood. Let me guess, you're Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley?" Ron and Hermione looked a bit surprised, but before they could say anything, Luna told them, "I've heard plenty about you, since you're Harry's best friends and all." And with that note of finality, she bent her head over the magazine again, finally turning it right-side-up for once. Apparently she had lost all interest in reprimanding me for 'trying to use magic' before we got to Hogwarts, when I already knew that we were allowed to use it as soon as we got on the Hogwarts Express. It wouldn't have done me any good anyways; I didn't know a single spell. Annabeth, who'd already read through a pile of Hermione's old books, probably did, but I only knew the ones I'd heard Mrs. Weasley use: _Evanesco, Reparo,_ and _Scourgify_ , and I didn't know what any of those did.

Hermione and Ron sat down in the compartment with the rest of us, putting away their trunks and Pidwidgeon, while Crookshanks leapt up onto Harry's lap. Harry started to pet him absentmindedly. We were all silent for a while, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Annabeth took out Daedalus' laptop and opened it up, while Ron stared in amazement, apparently having never seen a computer before.

"What's that thing? Is it for Muggles?" he asked, eyes wide and round.

"No, Ron, it's a computer. I'm assuming that the type of magic that Percy and Annabeth used to study involved computers, but Muggles do use it as well," explained Hermione, a bit irritably, looking up from her spellbook. She'd been waving her wand and mouthing the spell as practice.

"Oh, so you're from a different school? In America? I thought that your accents were American! What kind of magic did you study there?" Luna Lovegood let out a string of questions all in the same breath, now looking intently at Annabeth.

"Um… yes. We come from a different magical school in America. We study… um, different powers according to every person," Annabeth half-lied.

"Amazing! And what did you study?" Luna asked Annabeth.

"Um… I studied a little bit of what you do here, at Hogwarts. And Percy studied marine magic," she invented, thinking on her toes. It wasn't exactly a lie; Annabeth knew strategy and mythology, while I could influence water.

"I see. Well, I hope you learn something new at Hogwarts!" piped Luna brightly before going back to her magazine. I prayed to the gods that she would stay silent and read her magazine for the rest of the way to Hogwarts.

Eventually, a snack trolley came around, selling a variety of different candies that I'd never heard of before: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Licorice Wands, and more. Everyone decided to buy something from it, and I took a little bit of everything, not wanting to miss out. Annabeth and I took turns tasting the different candies of the wizarding world while Harry, Ron, and Hermione explained each of them to us.

"So then there's the Chocolate Frogs. Each one comes with a card, you can collect them," said Ron, chewing on a Licorice Wand himself. "Mind you, don't let the frogs escape, they can hop away…" He grinned as I opened a Chocolate Frog box only for a brown, sweet-tasting amphibian to hop onto my nose. I grabbed it as fast as I could, and it finally stopped struggling and turned into a regular, solid piece of chocolate, which I munched on hungrily.

"Be careful with those," Hermione warned when Annabeth reached for the bag of Every Flavor Beans. "Some of them can be quite nasty."

Annabeth popped a green one into her mouth, then spit it out immediately and wiped her tongue with her hand. "Grossest — thing — I've — ever — tried," she managed. "Tasted like a booger. Blech." Hermione swept out her wand, muttered _Scourgify,_ and the jellybean that Annabeth had just spit out onto the floor disappeared. I tried a couple of them — grass, toast, and one that tasted like the steak from Camp Half-Blood, before moving on to Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties.

The weather outside seemed like it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. It was sunny for a couple minutes, then clouds covered the sky, and it started to rain. I watched the rolling farmland and hills pass by through the window.

The rest of the time to Hogwarts was spent lazily; Hermione read from her Arithmancy notes and book, muttering to herself from time to time and waving her wand, Harry pressed his forehead against the glass of the window, watching the countryside (I suspected that his scar was hurting again and that he was trying to ice it discreetly) and petting Crookshanks, and Ron sat back and stared at nothing in particular, often going out into the corridors to do his prefect rounds with Hermione; Luna Lovegood read _The Quibbler_ intently, never again looking up (I thanked the gods), Annabeth leaned against me and read, switching from Daedalus' laptop to her magic spellbooks occasionally, while I took out one of my own spellbooks and started to try and decode the complex words. It got very frustrating, but I tried not to show it; my dyslexia was acting up, and words were swirling all over the pages, not to mention the fact that I was trying to read about magic. By the time that darkness fell outside and the lamps turned on, I gave up on trying to read anything and closed my book angrily.

"We should probably get changed into our Hogwarts robes," Harry suggested, and so we all did. I'd never felt more excited to start a new quest than now, in my new wizard's robes, my new wand in my pocket, Riptide in the other. This journey would be amazing, I had no doubt.

Soon before we got to Hogwarts, Rachel and Ginny found our compartment and squeezed in with the rest of us. The two of them were already wearing Hogwarts robes. Annabeth finally turned off Daedalus' laptop and packed up her spellbooks, stowing her ash wand safely in her front pocket.

After what seemed like forever, the train finally lurched to a stop. We left all of our belongings on it and eagerly stepped off, following the crowd of students flowing in the direction of the school.

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry asked Hermione and Ron quietly, but they both shrugged in worry.

"He'll show up, don't worry. Shall we go get ourselves a carriage?" Hermione asked. We all walked up to the nearest empty carriage that was to take us up to the school, and I was amazed to see the skeletal, winged black horses pulling it. They were so majestic, I didn't even consider them as monsters when I saw them.

"What are those?" I asked the group about the horses, at the same time Harry opened his mouth.

"What are what?" asked Hermione curiously.

"The big black horses pulling the carriages," I said.

"Percy, there _are_ no big black horses pulling the carriages," said Ron worriedly.

"No, he's right, I see them too," said both Harry and Annabeth, but the rest of the group looked at us dumbfoundedly.

"There's nothing pulling the carriages," repeated Rachel. Ginny and Hermione both looked at us like we'd lost our minds.

"I see them too, don't worry," said Luna Lovegood, walking up to us. "You're just as sane as I am." That didn't exactly reassure me, but all of us climbed into the carriage, which set off up towards my new home for a year: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I know I've been closely following the plot of the Harry Potter series, especially** **The Order of the Phoenix,** **but that will soon change. Second, Percy and Annabeth are going to be sixth-years at Hogwarts, but Rachel Dare is actually a fifth-year, not a sixth-year.**

 **POVs: Percy, Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I own not the works of Rick Riordan or J.K. Rowling. This chapter has scenes from_ _The Order of the Phoenix_ _and_ _The Sorcerer's Stone,_ _which I also do not own. I don't own the Sorting Hat or its songs._

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Chapter 7

The invisible horses clopped along the curvy cobbled road leading up to the magic school, wandering first through a dark, silent forest. The only light came from the lantern hanging inside the carriage, and the faint light of the stars in the black sky. After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only ten minutes, the road wound out of the woods, and as the carriage rode back out into the open night air, Annabeth, Rachel, and I all got our first-ever look at Hogwarts.

Towering over us, perched precariously on the cliff-side of a mountain, was an enormous castle, with multiple turrets and towers rising above a dark black lake. The many windows were glowing with a soft yellow light against the starry sky. It looked just like a medieval castle — I just couldn't figure out how it was here, out of the sight of Muggles, in the middle of the Scottish countryside and mountains. But I found that I couldn't bring myself to care; I was lost in wonder at the castle's majesty and magical appearance. Annabeth and Rachel both gawked at the stone castle alongside me, unable to suppress their gasps.

The two skeletal black horses trotted up along the mountain-ish hill leading up to the castle, going around the ominous, glass-like surface of the dark lake and even creepier forest beyond. They followed the road all the way through two tall stone pillars topped with winged boars that must have been the castle gates. The carriages finally halted before a set of stone steps leading up to two enormous gold-plated oak doors.

The eight of us (I only wondered how we'd managed to fit in the carriage without cramping now) all filed out of the carriage, with Harry first. I stopped to look at the strange creatures pulling the carriage for a moment, and they looked back at me with milky white eyes, nickering softly. I hesitated before placing my hand on the first's beak-like nose and patting it before Harry, Hermione and Ron all led us away from the carriages and up the steps to Hogwarts.

Dozens of other students, all of them wearing their black school robes already, were filing out of the carriages as well. We were jostled as we made our way up the stone steps and into the entrance hall, which was ablaze with the lights of torches and candles, all the students' footsteps echoing in the enormous room. I was strangely reminded of the throne room of the Olympians in Olympus, on top of the Empire State Building. The entrance hall was _that_ big. But then that memory was swept away by a more recent one, one in a dream…

Albus Dumbledore and the other witch had walked out of these same doors into the cool night in my last dream at Camp Half-Blood.

I shook my head. I shouldn't be thinking of that right now; I needed to focus. But right before we entered the dining hall (the Great Hall, as Hermione had said), we were stopped by the same witch I'd been thinking of just moments ago. She had a strict, pointed face, spectacles, and was wearing the same emerald green robes from my dream, a pointy hat perched on her head. Her lips were drawn tight together in an unreadable expression, and her silver-streaked black hair was pulled into a tight bun behind her neck. She looked exactly the same as she had in my dream a week and a half ago.

"Hello, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger. I'd like to borrow your friends for a short moment before the beginning-of-term feast, if I may. I assure you I mean them no harm." But her face stayed in the same, strict, perfectly arranged expression as before. I wanted to disobey and stay away from this woman, but she didn't look like a person to be crossed with in any way. She motioned for Annabeth, Rachel, and I to follow her, and so with a couple of nervous looks back at the other three, we followed her farther into the castle. After walking briskly in complete silence down the halls of our new home, the emerald-cloaked witch stopped and led us into an unused classroom.

"I believe that you are Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Rachel Dare?" she asked severely.

"Yes," I barely squeaked, already terrified of this woman.

"Good. Professor Dumbledore told me you three would be coming this year. I am Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. I do not wish for you to be late to the start-of-term feast, and so we must hurry. I understand that you three are to be sixth- and fifth-years this term, and so, naturally, we couldn't have you sorted with all of the first-years in front of the whole school." Annabeth opened her mouth in question, but Professor McGonagall continued. "Therefore, we've decided to sort you right now, before the feast. I believe Ms. Granger has already informed you of the Sorting Hat?" From behind her, McGonagall pulled out a dusty old brown witch hat. She set it down on a table in the classroom, and a crack opened up within like a mouth.

The hat spoke. "Ah, I see. Newcomers, but not first years." Rachel and I jumped back in surprise, but Annabeth remained calm. Sure, we'd been told about the Sorting Hat, but it was still scary that it actually talked.

"We wish for them to be sorted before the Sorting Ceremony for first years," McGonagall told the hat, and a crease furrowed like an eyebrow.

"I see. Who will be first, then? How about you, young lady?" The hat pointed the tip of its head in Annabeth's direction, and for the first time, she looked nervous. "Come, now, dear. Just put me on your head and I'll decide where you belong. Annabeth finally picked up the Sorting Hat, brushed some of the dust off of it, and placed it on her head. The hat started to murmur to itself. "Hmmm. I see. You are a difficult one, just like that Granger girl. Very intelligent. And a daughter of — oh!" I was instantly relieved that the Sorting Hat had not just said Athena out loud. It would freak out McGonagall, no doubt about it. "Well, let's see…" the hat continued. "Yes, very intelligent and knowledge-seeking and wise, but also very brave. You would do well in Ravenclaw." The Sorting Hat then started talking to itself very quietly, so that the only person who could hear it was Annabeth, who looked up at it in confusion. After a couple more moments, it shouted, "Gryffindor!"

Annabeth blushed slightly as McGonagall waved her wand and gave her a brand-new crimson and gold tie for school and scarf, then waved her wand again to put the scarf in Annabeth's trunk (somewhere in the school), and tie the tie onto her robes.

"Now, let's see. How about you next, young man?" The hat inclined its tip towards me, and, suddenly nervous, I took it from Annabeth's hands and put it on my head. "Hmm. Also very interesting. Gryffindor would suit you well, you are a brave one. You always try to save your friends, even if it means putting yourself at great risk. But you are also intelligent, a good candidate for Ravenclaw." Then the Sorting Hat just sat on my head silently, debating quietly to itself. It finally made its decision. "But separating you from this young lady wouldn't be the wisest of choices, now… Hmm. I suppose you must be…" _Gryffindor, please say Gryffindor,_ I told the hat in my head. "Gryffindor!"

I mentally thanked the hat before taking the hat off and handing it to Rachel as McGonagall fashioned me some Gryffindor clothes like she had for Annabeth. Rachel took the hat, not looking nervous at all, and shoved it on her head.

"Well, well, now, Miss Dare. You are possibly the most interesting person I have seen. A muggleborn, and only the second person I've ever met whose personalities were so conflicting. A brave, kind soul, willing to go to anything for your friends, but that other part of you can control you at times…"

Immediately I felt like someone had poured ice water on me. There was no mistaking what the Sorting Hat was referring to right now, and if he said anything in McGonagall's presence… I silently prayed that it'd say nothing about that other part of Rachel, the part that gave me nightmares, the part that possessed her…

"Yes, I see. The second soul I've read who is so conflicting. But you see, this other soul went to Gryffindor, for his bravery outweighed the other part that had been accidentally transferred to him, and he asked me for Gryffindor. Miss Dare, I believe the controlling part of you now outweighs the other part. And it will get stronger, no doubt." McGonagall was watching the Sorting Hat in complete shock, bewildered and not knowing what it was talking about, but the hat continued to speak.

"Miss Dare, your fate lies in… Slytherin!"

* * *

Hermione, Ron and I watched as Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel all followed McGonagall out of sight. "Don't worry," whispered Hermione. "She's probably going to sort them before the Sorting Ceremony. Try to pretend like there's nothing wrong." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

The three of us all strode into the Great Hall with Luna, who gave us an airy "goodbye" before drifting off to the Ravenclaw table. I stared in wonder at the magic of the Great Hall for possibly the hundredth time — I'd never gotten over how beautiful it was. The ceiling, which was enchanted to look and behave like the sky outside, shone with a million small stars, all shining faintly in their constellations. The hundreds of candles hovered and floated around in midair above the tables, lighting the great room with the help of the dozen torches on the walls. The house banners all hung proudly over their own houses' tables, the reflection from the candlelight washing those long tables with their house colors, and pearly-silver ghosts floated around aimlessly, talking to the returning Hogwarts students.

The Gryffindor table was bathed in red and gold light from the banner and the flickering candles overhead. I followed Ron and Hermione down the table and found somewhere to sit near Fred and George, who were trying to sell magical candies to get students out of class. "One-hundred percent guaranteed that your nose will start to bleed horribly, and you can leave class," Fred was saying to a fellow Gryffindor, holding out a red pastille.

"And how do you stop the bleeding then?" the boy asked skeptically.

"We're still working on that. Without a remedy, it takes fifteen to twenty minutes to stop the bleeding!" exclaimed George brightly, and the student walked away, muttering to himself about lunatics.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hermione stormed up to the twins, forcing the red pastilles from their hands and vanishing them with a flick of her wand. "You're not supposed to do that! I can give you two detention if you want it!" she reprimanded, positively furious.

"Mione, those took two months to make, and you just Vanished them!" protested George in a whining voice.

"Serves you right, you shouldn't be selling illegal products to the students, and you said it yourself, they haven't even been properly tested yet! Now go away before I give you detention!"

"Yes, ma'am," Fred mocked, grinning, as the twins ran away down the table to find Lee Jordan. Hermione sat down at the table next to Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, both of whom were still talking to each other, and I sat down next to her while Ron took a seat on the other side of the table.

"So where d'you reckon Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel are? It can't have taken them this long to be sorted, they'd be back by now," said Ron.

"There they are," said Hermione huffily, pointing at the entrance of the hall, where the three had just appeared. Percy and Annabeth walked towards the Gryffindor table, while Rachel wandered off in the other direction and was soon out of sight in a mob of heads. The two walked over and sat down next to Ron.

"So, what happened? I'm assuming you were sorted with Professor McGonagall?" asked Hermione, finally forgetting Fred and George's nose-bleeding candy and focusing on Percy and Annabeth.

"Yes, that's right," said Annabeth, but her eyes kept wandering nervously over the hall. "We're both in Gryffindor." For the first time, I noticed their ties, which were crimson and gold, the colors of Gryffindor House.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Ron happily. "But where's Rachel?" he asked after a moment, realizing she wasn't here.

"She wasn't sorted into Gryffindor," Percy said nervously.

"That's odd," speculated Hermione, frowning. "I was sure she would be… But then, what house is she in?"

"Slytherin," answered Percy darkly, finally taking his eyes off of the silver-emerald banner on the other side of the Great Hall. Hermione was so surprised that she actually half-fell off her seat at the table, and I caught her before she could hit the ground. Ron spluttered.

"Slytherin?!" he asked incredulously. Both Percy and Annabeth nodded grimly. "But I never thought —"

He was interrupted as Professor McGonagall walked into the hall, carrying a stool with a frayed wizard's hat on top, followed by a crowd of timid first years. McGonagall set down the stool, and the whole school waited until the Sorting Hat opened its mouth and began to sing:

" _In times of old when I was new_

 _And Hogwarts barely started_

 _The founders of our noble school_

 _Thought never to be parted:_

 _United by a common goal,_

 _They had the selfsame yearning,_

 _To make the world's best magic school_

 _And pass along their learning._

" _Together we will build and teach!"_

 _The four good friends decided_

 _And never did they dream that they_

 _Might someday be divided,_

 _For were there such friends anywhere_

 _As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

 _Unless it was the second pair_

 _Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?_

 _So how could it have gone so wrong?_

 _How could such friendships fail?_

 _Why, I was there and so can tell_

 _The whole sad, sorry tale._

 _Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those_

 _Whose ancestry is purest."_

 _Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose_

 _Intelligence is surest."_

 _Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those_

 _With brave deeds to their name,"_

 _Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,_

 _And treat them just the same."_

 _These differences caused little strife_

 _When first they came to light,_

 _For each of the four founders had_

 _A House in which they might_

 _Take only those they wanted, so,_

 _For instance, Slytherin_

 _Took only pure-blood wizards_

 _Of great cunning, just like him,_

 _And only those of sharpest mind_

 _Were taught by Ravenclaw_

 _While the bravest and the boldest_

 _Went to daring Gryffindor._

 _Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,_

 _And taught them all she knew,_

 _And thus the Houses and their founders_

 _Retained friendships firm and true._

 _So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

 _For several happy years,_

 _But then discord crept among us_

 _Feeding on our faults and fears._

 _The Houses that, like pillars four,_

 _Had once held up our school,_

 _Now turned upon each other and,_

 _Divided, sought to rule._

 _And for a while it seemed the school_

 _Must meet an early end,_

 _What with dueling and with fighting_

 _And the clash of friend on friend_

 _And at last there came a morning_

 _When old Slytherin departed_

 _And though the fighting then died out_

 _He left us quite downhearted._

 _And never since the founders four_

 _Were whittled down to three_

 _Have the Houses been united_

 _As they were once meant to be._

 _And now the Sorting Hat is here_

 _And you all know the score:_

 _I sort you into Houses_

 _Because that is what I'm for,_

 _But this year I'll go further,_

 _Listen closely to my song:_

 _Though condemned I am to split you_

 _Still I worry that it's wrong_

 _Though I must fulfill my duty_

 _And must quarter every year_

 _Still I wonder whether sorting_

 _May not bring the end I fear._

 _Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

 _The warning history shows,_

 _For our Hogwarts is in danger_

 _From external, deadly foes_

 _And we must unite inside her_

 _Or we'll crumble from within._

 _I have told you, I have warned you…_

 _Let the Sorting now begin."_

The Great Hall was silent for a moment, and then everyone burst into applause. Everyone except for Percy and Annabeth, who stared at the Sorting Hat with completely white faces in both fear and reverence. "It's trying to give advice," said Hermione quietly. "Has it ever done that before?"

The Sorting Ceremony began as McGonagall started to read a list of first years' names and the Sorting Hat yelled their house. "GRYFFINDOR! SLYTHERIN! HUFFLEPUFF! RAVENCLAW!" Finally, the Sorting Ceremony was over, and after a couple of words from Dumbledore, the feast began. Percy and Annabeth were completely shocked when the table and dishes filled themselves with food: pot roasts, roast beef and roast chicken, potatoes in various forms, green beans, peas, vegetables of all sorts, pork and lamb, a strange assortment of grains and pastas, noodles and pies… Ron helped himself to a large serving of pot roast and started eating heartily, while Hermione served herself a bit of everything. Annabeth and Percy ate whatever they could. All the while, Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor, talked to Annabeth and Hermione about how the Sorting Hat gave advice in times of need.

"I suppose it wants all of the houses to cooperate and work together," said the ghost. At this, I looked over at Draco Malfoy at the Slytherin table — yeah, work together. Absolutely. Finally, after eating dessert — ice creams, hot caramel and chocolate-dipped fruits, flan, pies, candies, and a wide assortment of chocolates — Dumbledore stood to make his start-of-term speech.

"Now that we've finished filling our bellies with this delicious feast, I wish to address a couple of school rules. First years should know that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits. Mr. Filch wishes for me to remind _all_ of you that magic is not allowed in the halls between classes. Finally, I wish to introduce two new staff members; first of all, Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures lessons, and Professor Umbridge, who is our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Two things popped into my head at once. First of all, Dumbledore hadn't said how long Grubbly-Plank would be teaching — where would Hagrid be? And then I looked up at Professor Umbridge and immediately recognized her from my hearing at the Ministry the previous summer. She was wearing a bright pink cardigan and matching pink shoes and a hat, her little toad-like face smirking disturbingly. "I know her," I told the others. "She was at my hearing at the Ministry. She works for Fudge."

"Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will be held in two weeks' time —" At which point he was interrupted by a little cough coming from Professor Umbridge, who got up and walked over as Dumbledore sat to let her make a speech.

I was so bored that I almost fell asleep during Umbridge's long, monotone speech, but Hermione and Annabeth paid high attention to what she was saying. The next thing I knew, the speech was over and Dumbledore was back to making his usual announcements.

"Oh my goodness," said Hermione, covering her mouth and staring in shock as the toad lady sat back down.

"What?" I asked sleepily.

"Weren't you listening, Harry?" asked Annabeth. I shook my head. "She gave a whole speech about the Ministry, and basically, well, the Ministry of Magic is interfering at Hogwarts. I don't know why, but it might be best if we just avoid her right now." We all listened to Dumbledore talk about Quidditch and this year's O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s for fifth and seventh years, and then he finally sent us off to bed.

"Let's try to find Rachel, Percy…" Annabeth said, grabbing his arm, but the Slytherins had already all filed out of the Great Hall, leaving the two of them nothing to do but follow Hermione, Ron and I up to the Gryffindor common room for a hopefully good night's sleep before the first day of school tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This story is progressing really well, so thank you for all your support!**

 **POVs: Percy**

 _Disclaimer: Did I make up the Knight Bus? Have I ever met Tartarus? No. I am not J.K. Rowling or Rick Riordan and I don't own their written works. I am writing this for fun!_

* * *

Chapter 8

My nightmares that night were as vivid as ever. I watched again as the green fog serpent poured out of Rachel's mouth and slithered away in coils, her usually blue eyes glowing bright green, and the frightening resemblance of the Oracle's serpent form to the emblem of Rachel's new house at Hogwarts.

 _The boy of green eyes, son of the Sea_

 _Shall help protect the wand-wielding three,_

 _The girl of gray eyes, daughter of the Wise,_

 _Shall help defeat an enemy that cannot die_

 _In a world not mortal, but entirely weird,_

 _Led there by the man with the silver beard._

 _The bearded man will help with the quest,_

 _As the five come together to defeat worst and best_

 _They will all suffer, succeed, prevent, prevail,_

 _And throw evil into the worst of jails_

 _But a word of caution, they must beware_

 _They can't return unless they dare_

 _To take the girl who was once their friend;_

 _Otherwise, their world will never see them again._

 _The green fog slithered ominously, red eyes glowing with a certainly evil light..._

 _He was standing in the middle of the Great Hall, which was eerily empty, all the seats vacant, the candles and torches extinguished. The enchanted ceiling was displaying a stormy night, the stars entirely invisible behind thunderclouds as hard rain pattered down on the school and lightning flashed occasionally, making his normally sleek blond hair appear white. Draco Malfoy was staring up at two banners that hung next to each other on the far side of the hall from the Gryffindor table. The first, which was further from the wall, was painted a beautiful royal blue with bronze embellishments, starring an equally bronze eagle in flight in the middle, under which was printed the word Ravenclaw. The eagle flapped its wings repeatedly on the blue banner, completely, utterly alive._

 _The second banner was blue-green, but not like the sea_ — _more like a wintry forest, an emerald green_ — _and was adorned with sharp silver swirls, as silver as the arrows of the Hunters of Artemis. In the middle was a silver serpent, smelling the air with its tongue out, its scales gleaming as it coiled up over and over again, with the word Slytherin printed in silver paint underneath..._

 _The boy stood staring at the two banners, the eagle flapping its wings and turning its head silently in the blue sky, the snake undulating over itself on a green background. Draco Malfoy stayed silent as he watched the banners for Slytherin and Ravenclaw move. Occasionally he'd point at one of the two and mutter something to himself. But I didn't hear anything he said until he turned around. He looked at me directly like he could see me standing there. His stormy gray eyes weren't cold and malevolent like they had been in my last dreams. This time they were full of fear and confusion._

" _That girl… I've seen her before. But she can't… she's in Gryffindor. She's one of Potter's friends," he muttered to me before looking back at the two banners. "Clever Wisdom, cunning Snake… help me find my way. Great Ocean," he started, looking back at me, "you have to understand. It is not my fault."_

 _Suddenly, there was the sound of shoes clicking on stone floors, and the light of a lantern came nearer to the Great Hall. Draco Malfoy vanished in a swish of his black cloak, running back out of the Great Hall and leaving me alone to stare up at the blue and green banners, which were both now completely still, as if they'd never moved before._

* * *

I woke up in a cold sweat and sat up way too fast, my head spinning dizzily. I was in my four-poster bed in the Gryffindor dormitory, the curtains all pulled around my bed. Poseidon had been sleeping on my stomach, and now sat up and meowed irritably, annoyed that I had almost crushed him when I sat up. Not bothering to put my head back on the pillow to stop the spinning, I got up and out of the warm bed and pulled back the curtain. Harry, who had pulled back his curtains completely last night in an attempt to get away from another fifth-year Gryffindor named Seamus (he'd insulted Harry, saying the _Daily Prophet_ was right all along), was tossing and turning enough for me to hear him, occasionally muttering "almost there" in his sleep. I'd been assigned a bed in the fifth-year boys' dormitory because there weren't enough beds in the sixth-years' dorm, and besides, I could probably pass for fifteen. I didn't really mind, as long as no one found out who I really was.

I left my bed and, tiptoeing so as to not disturb any of my roommates (I doubted Ron could be roused, though - he was snoring ridiculously loudly), walked over to the window. A heavy rain was pattering against the window and on the roof, and as I looked outside, I saw heavy rainclouds hovering low over the castle, so low that our room was almost in the middle of one. The occasional lightning flashed, and thunder boomed. The weather was the same as it had been in my dream, only worsening my fear that the nightmare — dream, whatever — had actually been happening.

I pressed my forehead against the cold window and forced myself to think. What had Malfoy said? _Clever Wisdom, cunning Snake… help me find my way. Great Ocean, you have to understand_. Athena… Poseidon. _That girl…_ of course — he'd been talking about Annabeth. He _knew_ , he knew that we were demigods. I was absolutely convinced that I was right. The only question that remained now was… how?

I pulled Riptide out of my sweats' pocket and rubbed it, which somehow helped to calm me down. It took me a while to fall back asleep, and when I did, it was with my forehead still pressed on the fogged-up window. I wasn't even presented with any other nightmares, but that was only because just around half an hour after I'd fallen back asleep, I was woken by a bloodcurdling scream. Or so I thought. I was startled out of my sleep, my head snapping up so hard I could have seriously hurt my neck, and looked around wildly. But the dormitory room was peaceful as ever — the five other boys all slept quietly, except for Ron, who was still snoring (albeit a bit softer), and Harry's tossing and turning. Maybe the scream had been in my head — but it had sounded so real…

I fell asleep again, more quickly this time, and when I woke up, though the nightmares remained in my head, I didn't remember the scream at all.

I woke in the morning, having been able to get some dreamless sleep, but my forehead felt so cold from being pressed against the window all night that I was surprised it wasn't frozen stuck to the glass. Riptide was still clutched in my hand. I noticed that I had drooled a bit on the windowpane, and hurriedly wiped it away, embarrassed. It was then that I noticed I'd woken up before everyone else had. The dormitory was completely quiet, even though the sun was already starting to rise amidst a very rainy September morning. The clouds were still letting down all of their rain, but it wasn't as severe as last night's storm; the rain was softer now, not as intense on the windows and roof. I looked at the clouds and was immediately reminded of Malfoy's eyes.

The dream came back to me all at once, with Draco looking at me for help, asking Athena and the cunning Snake and the Ocean for help. He had looked completely lost, not at all like the arrogant, cold Draco Malfoy I'd met on the train to school. What had _happened_ for him to act that way? From what I'd heard from Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Malfoy was a stupid, rude git who saw everyone and anyone who wasn't pure-blooded as below him. But if Malfoy had actually been in the Great Hall last night when everyone was asleep (and I was absolutely sure I'd been seeing the present), why had he so suddenly changed? Or was this maybe a different side of himself he didn't like to show other people?

I shook my head; I was overthinking this. I couldn't spend all my time worrying about Draco Malfoy and his problems when I had my first day of school at Hogwarts today. I couldn't say I wasn't worried; as a matter of fact, as soon as I started thinking about it, I began to freak out. I'd never been taught magic before, and, from what Hermione had said, the schoolwork increased tenfold after the Ordinary Wizarding Examinations in their fifth year, and I was starting sixth year without knowing a scrap of magic. But I managed to take a deep breath and calm myself a bit by reminding myself that Dumbledore was giving us extra lessons. There was nothing to worry about. Besides, I'd have Annabeth with me.

I stood up from my awkward place in the window seat and found my back cramped from sleeping in that strange position all night. I stretched before walking back to my bed and trunk and pulling out my school clothes. Seamus and another kid called Dean woke up, groaning as the morning sunlight hit their eyes. Seamus sat up crankily and rubbed his eyes before he noticed me pulling on my school robes and yelling, "Blimey! It's nearly six-forty!" in a deep British accent. "Why didn't you wake us up, mate?" I merely shrugged, which was enough for Seamus, who leapt out of bed and started furiously digging through his trunk. I pulled Harry's curtain back and told him to wake up just as Neville, a round-faced awkward boy, bounced out of bed. That left only Ron, who was snoring heavily, his face nearly on the floor and his butt sticking up under the sheets as he slept. I sniggered at the ridiculous sight. Harry, who was grumbling, throwing me ungrateful stares for some strange reason as he forced on his cloak and Gryffindor tie.

Dean bent over and yelled in a certain redhead's ear, who woke up with a start, waving his hands around like weapons and screaming, "COME BACK HERE, YOU SON OF A WALNUT EYEBROW! C'MERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!" All of us started laughing our heads off at Ron, who started running around the room, shrieking random things like "BANANA UNICORNS! SHUT UP!" and "I WANNA EAT YOU, MR. LEPRECHAUN!" for a whole minute before realizing that he was in the dormitory and that we were all rolling on the floor, eyes streaming with tears of laughter.

It took a while to calm ourselves down and to get Ron to stop looking like a tomato on fire, but eventually we did. We all grabbed our school clothes and put them on hastily so as to not be late to breakfast, and I had to ask Harry for help putting on my tie (ancient Greek armor does not include such things). Finally, I traipsed down the stairs with Ron and Harry, with the rest not far behind. Poseidon had somehow made his way down into the common room, and Annabeth sat, already dressed in her robes, with him on her lap, stroking him and reading an enormous book with Hermione, who had her ginger cat Crookshanks on her own lap. The two looked up as we entered the common room. "Shall we go down to breakfast, then?" Hermione asked. We all made our way out of the common room and past the Fat Lady (I still couldn't get over how the portraits here moved and talked), down several flights of stairs and through twisting corridors before finally arriving at the Great Hall for breakfast at seven o'clock sharp.

I could barely force down any food besides a small piece of toast and some eggs. "Percy, you really need to eat something else," said Annabeth reproachfully from beside me. "You'll regret it later today, and you'll be hungry."

"I can't, Annabeth. I'm too nervous," I told her. Suddenly, a loud hooting and crashing sound filled the Great Hall as a flood of owls stormed in with the morning post. I stared up in wonder at the flurry of brown, gray, black and white feathers filling the air. We weren't expecting anything by mail, but three owls circled down towards us. I recognized Harry's snowy owl, Hedwig, floating down, and she landed next to him, giving him an affectionate nip on the ear and nibbling on a bit of toast before flying back off. An albino barn owl with reddish eyes landed in front of Hermione, carrying the latest edition of _The Daily Prophet_. What surprised me the most, though, was a black great horned owl swiveling down and landing in front of Annabeth and me. Attached to Merlin's front leg was a single letter. Written in familiar loopy handwriting was:

 _Annabeth and Percy,_

 _You will not be attending any classes this morning. Please meet me in my office at eight o'clock sharp this morning. Professor McGonagall will take you there. Miss Rachel Dare will be informed of this and will meet us as well. Bring only your wands._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Professor Albus Dumbledore_

Annabeth and I read through the short letter together, and then showed Ron, Hermione, and Harry. "He must be starting your private training!" exclaimed Hermione, excited at once. "I wonder what he'll teach you…" She went back to reading _The Daily Prophet_.

"Why are you still getting that thing, Hermione?" asked Harry, insulted and revolted at the Ministry's newspaper in Hermione's hands.

"Well, I thought it would be a good idea to know what our enemy's thinking, right?" said Hermione confidently. "We need to see what they're saying about you, Harry." She disappeared behind the newspaper again. After we all finished eating breakfast, we saw Professor McGonagall making her way down the Gryffindor table with the schedules for the day. The thought that we'd have a different schedule every day utterly bewildered me; in the U.S., we'd had the same schedule every day in school. McGonagall finally got down to us, and handed Hermione, Ron, and Harry each a schedule. Ron and Harry looked intently at theirs.

"Hmm. It could be worse. We've got Divination, Transfiguration, and History of Magic this morning. What've you got, Hermione?"

Hermione took a quick look at her schedule. "Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, and History of Magic as well."

"How many classes have you each got?" I asked the three on the other side of the table.

"Well, we've all got Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination - well, I quit Divination third year, Trelawney is a fraud and a complete bore - Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic" — Ron and Harry both groaned at this — "and Astronomy. I've also got Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. The minimum is nine classes in fifth year, but I'm taking ten."

"Why would you _ever_ take Arithmancy, Hermione?" Annabeth muttered, mostly to herself, before opening a book and starting to read it. How she managed to read English with her dyslexia and ADHD, I didn't know. I couldn't.

"I don't know, I think it's fantastic," said Hermione, who'd heard Annabeth's comment. "I was raised by Muggles, so I took arithmancy in primary school, mind you… anyway, it's a bit of a break from the rest of the magical studies. But the magical studies are also enormously fun, don't get me wrong." At around seven-forty-five, Hermione stood up and left the Great Hall, saying, "I should get going if I don't want to be late Study of Ancient Runes. I suggest you two get a move on as well," she added, pointing at Harry and Ron. They left soon after Hermione, and we were left to find Professor McGonagall. But before we even got up, she was at the Gryffindor table, Rachel at her side.

"Let's be off," she ordered, and started walking. "I don't want to be late for my first Transfiguration class with the second years." We caught up with Rachel, who we hadn't seen since after the Sorting Hat had sorted us into our houses last night.

"Slytherin's all right, everyone's been pretty nice to me, especially this boy… Dragon Mavoy-something, I think. They've even accepted that I'm from America and a muggle-born," she told us.

"Wait. Draco Malfoy?" I asked her.

"Yes. Why? You know him?"

"Not exactly. Nevermind." Annabeth and Rachel both gave me wary looks, but the wheels were already spinning in my head. If Draco Malfoy was being nice to Rachel, maybe I could befriend him and… no, that wouldn't work, he already basically hated me from what I'd seen on the Hogwarts Express. I stopped thinking as McGonagall stopped in front of a gargoyle and told us to step in front of it. We did, and she murmured something, causing the gargoyle to come to life, and a set of moving, circular stairs appeared in front of us. We stepped on.

"Good luck," said Professor McGonagall, and she turned on her heel and left for her Transfiguration class.

We found a door at the top, and I knocked. "Come in," said Dumbledore. I walked into an enormous, beautiful circular room and tried to hide my surprise. A number of strange, silver little instruments were whirring on spindle-legged tables, puffing out some smoke. A fiery red, gorgeous bird sat perched on a perch behind the desk where Dumbledore was sitting. Illuminating the walls and portraits of various men and women, possibly the previous headmasters and mistresses of Hogwarts, were several candles. Sitting on a shelf behind Dumbledore's desk was none other than the shabby, tattered Sorting Hat.

"Welcome! Welcome, Percy, Annabeth, Rachel!" greeted Dumbledore cheerfully. "Care for a sweet? Please sit down, sit down, we have much to do in one hour." The three of us sat down across the desk from Dumbledore and accepted a sweet. "Now, I understand that you three have never before been taught magic. At least, not any magic that we teach here at Hogwarts. I am correct?" The three of us nodded. "Well, now that you three are here, you will need to regularly attend classes with the rest of the sixth years - and fifth years, in your case, Rachel - of your house. But first, you will need to be taught all that you missed in the other years at Hogwarts."

"Professor, if I may… how are you going to get us caught up on five — and four for Rachel - years' of magic in just an hour?" Annabeth asked politely, voicing all of my fears.

"Now, that is the interesting part. To get you three all caught up, I must transfer you all of the information using a very complex spell. I know this does not make much sense right now, but it will soon enough. And it will actually take two hours for you two, Annabeth and Percy, while it'll take one for Rachel. Now, as I will tell you, there is a very complicated spell that I will perform to, ah… give you all the information you missed. Since time is of the essence, we must begin now. I will start with Annabeth. You have your wand?"

Annabeth nodded and held out her gray wand, but Dumbledore didn't take it. "Interesting combination, ash and phoenix feather. Makes a very powerful witch or wizard indeed. Now, my dear, if you will stand up with me…" Both of them stood up and walked to the middle of Dumbledore's study. "Miss Chase, what I am about to tell you is of utmost importance. During the entire spell, which may last up to three minutes, I need you to look straight into my eyes. Do not break eye contact. You cannot blink. Now, point your wand straight at me and look me in the eyes." Annabeth did as she was told, looking slightly scared. "I am going to share the first five years of Hogwarts' worth of learning to you, but you, in turn, must share something with me. Are you willing to do this?" Annabeth nodded. "Very well. I ask for you to choose five pieces of information you know and are willing to share with me and bring them to the front of your mind. Now, stare at me, and don't lose eye contact. Keep thinking of those things." Dumbledore started muttering a very long spell. The two ends of their wands erupted in golden and red light, and the wand streams connected. After two very long minutes of the same thing, the light finally died and Annabeth staggered back, almost falling over. I'd already been standing up and was close to her, and was able to catch her.

"What happened?" I asked her in a low voice.

"WOW. There is so much information in my brain right now… I know what a werewolf is, and a phoenix… look, there's one over there!" she exclaimed, extremely happy at knowing all these new things. She was pointing at the red bird perched behind Dumbledore's desk.

"Yes, Fawkes is indeed a phoenix," said the professor, looking slightly tired but joyful nevertheless. "Now, for Percy, it's your turn." Nervously, I stepped forward, holding out my wand. "Alright, now I need you to come up with five pieces of information to give me. Anything that comes to mind." He pointed his own wand at me. "Don't break eye contact." I looked straight into his blue eyes.

Dumbledore started muttering the same spell again, and from the tip of my wand came a blue light. From Dumbledore's came the same golden light that I'd seen before. I thought of the first five things that came to mind. _I am a Greek demigod, son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. I train at Camp Half-Blood during the summer. I defeated Kronos at the Battle of Manhattan. Luke was the hero. Annabeth's dagger is the cursed blade._ It was too late to change my thoughts, and I didn't want the spell to go wrong, so I kept thinking of them as I stared into Dumbledore's eyes and hoped he would have no idea what those meant.

Suddenly, an overwhelming amount of information was dumped on me, so heavy that it felt like someone put the weight of the sky on my shoulders again (and I've experienced that first-hand). Faster than it had happened, the weight disappeared, and the light from our two wands faded. I toppled backwards onto the ground. And the strangest thing happened - I felt smarter, wiser in a way. It was an incredibly powerful, yet hard-to-explain feeling. Before I could even digest all of the new information in my head, Rachel stepped up next to Dumbledore, who told her to think of only four pieces of information to share with him. She extended her black walnut wand, and two wand streams, this time green and gold, crossed. Only one and a half minutes later, Rachel stumbled back out of the spell, looking about as confused and dreamy as I felt.

"Now that I have shared all of this information with you, I ask that you please refrain from sharing the particular spell I used today with anybody else," said Dumbledore rather tiredly. "Not that they could use it, as I invented the spell myself, but I would like this to stay secret no matter how much everyone pesters you for answers. Now, I must test you three to see if you've actually passed examinations. Percy and Annabeth, you will also be taking your O.W.L.s, or Ordinary Wizarding Levels, which are examinations taken by fifth years. Your results on the tests, which, sadly, we must complete in only an hour or two, will determine which classes you will be taking this year at Hogwarts." I opened my mouth to ask a question, but Dumbledore seemed to read my mind.

"No, Percy, I am afraid that I already knew most of the information that you three shared with me. You, see, Chiron explained it all to me. Now, we must hurry with the testing, so you can get to your afternoon classes." And with that, Dumbledore waved his wand, making three large, scary-looking rolls of parchment, quills, and regular bottles of ink appear on the three different desks that he'd just conjured as well.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, I made up the spell Dumbledore used. Reviews appreciated!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I need you guys to review and tell me whether you want the story to have Romione or Dramione (RonxHermione or DracoxHermione). I'm a big Dramione shipper, so unless I get a HUGE majority of votes for Romione, the story will contain Dramione. It obviously won't be a large part of the story, since the plot is centered around the five and Voldemort, and it will really only happen gradually, but I want to know what you guys think. The Percabeth and original pairings will stay.**

 **POVs: Percy, Harry, Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HP, no matter how hard I wish it on a star. Some parts of this chapter were taken from_ _The Half-Blood Prince_ _and_ _The Order of the Phoenix_ _, which I don't own._

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Chapter 9

The O.W.L. tests were horribly complicated and required so much information that I was about ready to pass out when I first saw it. But then I realized that it was easy to complete with all the new magic information in my head. Rachel left as soon as she took a regular fourth-year examination. When Annabeth and I finally finished with all nine tests (Annabeth decided to take ten for Ancient Runes, which Dumbledore had put in her head because he thought she might want to take it) and the required spell performances with our wand, Dumbledore conjured two fancy pieces of parchment and floated them over to us. Mine read:

 **Ordinary Wizarding Level Results**

 _ **Pass Grades**_

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Acceptable (A)

 _ **Fail Grades**_

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

 _ **Perseus Jackson has achieved:**_

Astronomy A

Care of Magical Creatures A

Charms E

Defense Against the Dark Arts O

Divination D

Herbology E

History of Magic P

Potions O

Transfiguration O

Dumbledore took a quick look at my parchment, then said, "That is seven O.W.L.s, four of them Outstandings. I highly recommend you take all of those classes which you have passed with an Exceeds Expectations or Outstanding. And you, Annabeth," he continued, peering at Annabeth's paper, "you should continue with Ancient Runes as well. I daresay Ms. Granger will love some help from a N.E.W.T.-level student."

"What?" I asked, now confused, and trying to dig through my brain for a bit of information on N.E.W.T.s. But before Dumbledore could say anything, Annabeth answered.

"N.E.W.T.s are the examinations that seventh-year students take at the end of term. They stand for… um, Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests? Anyway, they're really hard and determine what job you should take after you leave school as an adult at age seventeen." Dumbledore nodded at Annabeth. "N.E.W.T.-level classes are a lot harder than regular. So, Professor, I should take Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, and Ancient Runes?" she asked him. I looked over Annabeth's shoulder (which wasn't hard, I was taller than her) and saw a paper saying that she passed with seven O's, two E's, and one P (the Poor was Divination).

"Yes. I believe you should continue with those classes, Ms. Chase. Percy, I think you should take the same as Annabeth excepting Ancient Runes, of course." I nodded. Five classes should be easier than nine, right?

"Very well then. I shall give you your timetables — or schedules, as you Americans call them — for today." Dumbledore pulled out two rolls of parchment and handed them to us. We took one, and I read over it carefully. I had Transfiguration this morning with Annabeth, and then a free period after lunch, then Potions and Herbology. "You have all the spellbooks and materials, I believe?" We both nodded. "You must hurry, or you'll be late to your first class."

Annabeth and I took that as a dismissal and left Dumbledore's magical office. Once back down the gargoyle steps, we set off for Transfiguration. "So where's McGonagall's class?" Annabeth muttered next to me, looking down at her parchment, her blond curls swinging down her back as we walked.

"It's Classroom 1B, on the ground floor near the courtyard," I said, then felt completely confused as to where that information came from. It must have come from the back of my brain.

Annabeth shrugged it off. "Come on, Seaweed Brain, we don't want to get stuck in between-class traffic, now, do we?"

* * *

Rachel walked into our Divination class halfway through Trelawney's first lesson, and the professor's head snapped up so quickly it surprised me that she didn't get whiplash. We had been staring at the new textbook, _The Dream Oracle_ by Inigo Imago, Ron and I desperately hoping that this year wouldn't be too horrible in Divination, Parvati and Lavender staring at Professor Trelawney with eyes wide open to catch everything she said, when a mane of curly red hair walked into our class and sat down at Malfoy's table.

Trelawney sat up straight impossibly fast, suddenly taking her eyes off of Neville, who was nervously recounting a dream he'd had over the summer, and eyed Rachel with a sort of anxious and eager gleam in her eye. "And just who might you be, dear?" Trelawney asked Rachel is a misty voice, trying and failing terribly to hide the excitement in her voice.

"Um… I'm Rachel. I'm from the United States, from a different magic school, and Professor Dumbledore brought me here to spend a year at Hogwarts." Rachel said all of this rather fast, and let out a large breath as she sat down on a fat pink pouffe at Malfoy's table. Pansy Parkinson looked her over skeptically from her seat with Theo Nott, having probably met her last night. Her attention eventually went back to Nott, who looked somewhat displeased at Pansy's mooning eyes at him. I smirked at his discomfort; Nott had been one of Malfoy's cronies all these years, after all — he deserved it.

"I see. I am Professor Trelawney," she said in hyper voice very different from the usual dreamy, misty voice she had. "You are a Slytherin, yes? Well, then, my dear, I'd like you to work with Mr. — Malfoy, is it? — here. Now, class, please start to talk about your dreams with each other, and interpret their meanings using _The Dream Oracle_." Trelawney wandered over to Lavender and Parvati to talk to them about their summers while I stared at Rachel. She was looking intently at her book, faking interest in _The Dream Oracle_. Or maybe she actually _was_ genuinely interested.

Malfoy, on the other hand, looked absolutely bored, though he seemed to treat Rachel with more respect than he did with us — probably because she was a Slytherin. Swearing under my breath, I took my attention off of Rachel and Malfoy and centered it again on Ron and _The Dream Oracle._ This was certain to be a highly uninteresting class period.

Or so it was, until Professor Trelawney meandered over to Malfoy and Rachel's table and exclaimed eagerly, "Ah! I see, Miss Dare. You have Seen high internal conflict and confusion in the future in your interpretation of Mr. Malfoy's dream. You possess the Inner Eye, you are a true Seer. Did you take Divination in America?" Professor Trelawney's voice was a high trill at this point, obviously excited to find out that Rachel was a "true Seer". I rolled my eyes.

Rachel's cheeks reddened, though it was almost invisible in the pink light that filtered through the dusty reddish curtains over the windows and the fog taking up the room. "Um… in a way. You see, Professor, we had different classes in the States. But I suppose you could call what I studied Divination."

"Marvelous!" Trelawney cried, suddenly excited again. "Wonderful! Well, if you do not mind, Miss Dare, I'd love to have a word with you after class. Now, back to dream interpretation."

Ron and I stared, open-mouthed, at Trelawney. She never, ever invited a student to speak to her after class, but normally would point out whatever she wanted to say in front of the entire class. And Trelawney seemed to have gone through a sort of spiritual awakening; her eyes were no longer misty, but clear with anticipation, and her voice was high instead of its usual misty tone.

After what seemed like forever of making up fake dreams and trying to interpret them using the heavy Divination textbooks, Trelawney called the end of class and dismissed us, informing us that our homework would be to write down and interpret dreams on a monthly calendar. She didn't seem distracted as she usually was, and rushed us out of the tower rather hurriedly.

Ron and I stepped down from the trapdoor. "Well, that was completely strange and un-Trelawneylike," Ron said breathlessly.

I nodded. "Well summed up. Shall we head to Transfiguration? We should tell Hermione all about this."

Ron looked a bit reluctant. "I think we should wait for Rachel, shouldn't we? To see what Trelawney says." I thought over this idea and was about to agree when Draco Malfoy stepped down from the trapdoor and climbed down the ladder, giving us an evil look as he planted himself at the base of the ladder.

"Shouldn't you be heading off to class? Or are you waiting for your little redhead girlfriend?" he sneered, but I detected a trace of confusion and fear in his silver eyes. I'd never seen that before. What would happen to make Malfoy scared?

"I could ask you the same thing," Ron spat back venomously. When all Malfoy did was smirk back, the scared glint still in his eye, he said, "Come on Harry, let's go." We descended down the long spiraling staircase down the North Tower, Ron ranting angrily about Malfoy, but I wasn't listening. All that was on my mind was Rachel's strange sorting into Slytherin and the way Professor Trelawney immediately picked her out as a true Seer.

Transfiguration lasted way too long as McGonagall explained Vanishing Spells and set us out to practice Vanishing the slimy snails she placed before us. Ron and I quickly recounted the story from Divination to Hermione while she repeatedly eyed her snail and whispered " _Evanesco",_ succeeding on sending the creature into oblivion on her third try. We explained Rachel, Trelawney's uncanny ability to single her out as she entered the classroom, and Malfoy hanging back. I was tempted to tell her about the strange glint of fear I'd seen in his eyes, but didn't.

"That's strange," Hermione huffed, frowning. "Well, we'll talk to her at lunch, hopefully, if Annabeth and Percy can get her over to the Gryffindor table." And that was all she'd said before Professor McGonagall told us to practice Vanishing Spells for the next class.

History of Magic was the most boring it had ever been. There was no chance that I would pass a History of Magic O.W.L. with my high lack of interest. Ron actually took a nap on my left side, while Hermione frantically scribbled down everything that Professor Binns said, eyes alert. I didn't know how she managed it — to be completely honest, I could've fallen asleep right there and then.

The only thing that prevented me from falling asleep during the two long hours of History of Magic were Malfoy and Rachel, who whispered back and forth intensely the entire class period. At one point, I could've sworn that Malfoy actually blushed, although it was just a small hint of red on his pale cheeks. And at another point, I distinctly heard the word "Annabeth" in their conversation. What were they talking about now? I really needed to talk to Percy and see if he could talk to Rachel. I looked back at the clock over Professor Binns' head. Only forty-five minutes to go until lunch.

I sighed heavily and kept my ear up to Malfoy and Rachel's conversation, but didn't hear anything else except for whispers for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

The Transfiguration class with McGonagall was not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. She started informing us about Animagi, and though she said it was a third-year topic of study, she thought it was important to delve deeper into the study of Animagi. I found myself instantly knowing what an Animagus was: a person who could transform themselves into an animal form at will, both with or without a wand. Annabeth was paying rapt attention to Professor McGonagall, taking notes about Animagi and their transformation principles, but for the first time, she wasn't the only one. I leaned forward in my seat with anticipation. This might as well be the most interesting topic we studied all year in Transfiguration — I'd heard from some seventh years passing us in the hall that later on we had to Transfigure our eyebrows' colors, something I didn't really look forward to.

"An Animagus' animal form is not chosen by the witch or wizard," McGonagall explained. "Rather, it is determined from a witch or wizard's personality and internal aspects, though in some cases the mage can change certain aspects about their appearance in animal form."

"Now, as you should all know, Animagi are required by Wizarding law to register at the Ministry of Magic as Animagi. If they are not and are caught, they can suffer severe consequences." McGonagall cast a stern look around at all of her students before continuing. "The process of becoming an Animagus is long and highly complicated, and potentially dangerous for the witch or wizard if it goes wrong. I'd like to point out that the act of transforming from human to animal by will is not a Transfiguration spell, nor is it a Charms spell."

McGonagall continued to explain Animagi for a while, and then gave us a demonstration herself. Apparently, she was an Animagus, and her animal form was a sleek tabby cat with spectacle marks around the eyes. Sadly, she didn't retain animal form through the rest of the class, and transformed back into a strict, emerald-cloaked woman to assign us the homework — a full two rolls of parchment on Animagi and their distinct characteristics due on Thursday. I was still in a state of shocked awe, both from the demonstration and the load of homework on our first day, as Annabeth and I left class and headed to the Great Hall for lunch.

We quickly found Harry, Ron and Hermione all huddled together at the Gryffindor table, the three of them in deep conversation. I sat down on the bench next to Hermione, Annabeth sitting down next to me and leaning her head on my shoulder. As soon as we came into Harry's view, he directed his attention to us and burst out with questions.

"Hey, Percy, did Rachel mention anything about Draco Malfoy?" I went rigid very suddenly, and Annabeth noticed. She took her blond curls off of my shoulder and looked at me with concern, but I looked at her with an expression that I hoped she understood to be: _later._ I tried to rearrange my face before turning back to Harry.

"Yeah, actually. She mentioned him once this morning when we were all walking down to Dumbledore's office, but nothing much. Why do you ask?" I said as casually as I could.

"Well, this morning in Divination, Trelawney picked Rachel out as a "true Seer" when she walked into the class," said Harry. Annabeth looked at me worriedly. Had Rachel given a prophecy in the middle of a class full of wizards? I sure hoped not.

"Yeah, it was the strangest thing," added Ron. "She seemed so _alert_ and she normally isn't, what with her little dream-world full of futuristic visions…" He rolled his eyes.

"And then in History of Magic, they were talking the entire time in the back of the room," added Harry, his green eyes concerned. "I swear that one time I heard the word "Annabeth" in their conversation."

Uh-oh. Draco had also mentioned Annabeth in my dream last night. The two things were too coincidental to not be connected. Just then, I saw a mane of curly red hair making its way over to the Gryffindor table. Rachel.

She sat down next to Annabeth. "How was your first day?"

Annabeth looked a bit taken aback, probably still processing what Harry had just told us about Malfoy, but quickly composed her face and answered, "Great. So much homework, though."

Rachel nodded quickly. "Well, I've been talking to Draco Malfoy — who's in my house, of course — about some stuff. You met him on the train yesterday, didn't you?" Annabeth and I nodded, bewildered as to where this was going, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione's faces looked friendly but wary at the mention of Malfoy. I already knew that Malfoy hadn't been kind at all to the trio over the years at Hogwarts, especially Hermione, who was a muggle-born (or what Draco crudely called a Mudblood). So why would he so suddenly befriend Rachel if he knew she was our friend?

Come to think of it, I wasn't sure he _did_ know that she was our friend.

"Well, anyways, Draco said he recognized you from somewhere, Annabeth, but he doesn't know where from. He says he apologizes for his behavior on the Express, except to Harry." She rolled her eyes. "Do you know him from anywhere?" Rachel asked Annabeth, and all eyes turned to her.

"Um… I think maybe. I feel like he's really familiar in some way or another." Rachel seemed satisfied with this information, and quickly hopped out of her seat, bid us a quick goodbye, and rushed back over to the Slytherin table. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all started speculating once again.

"How do you know him, Annabeth?" Harry asked in an accusing tone.

"I — I don't really know. He just seemed familiar to me when I first saw him, and apparently he thought the same thing," she explained defensively. Then, leaning in to my ear, she whispered, "Those gray eyes…" I nodded — I'd been thinking the same exact thing. What if Draco Malfoy _was_ actually related to Annabeth?

What if he was a demigod?

* * *

 **A/N:** **Romione or Dramione?**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: If there ends up being Dramione, I** **certainly don't plan on Draco being a complete idiot like he was in the first books — and besides, it'll be a very minor part of the plot.**

 **POVs: Harry, Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I own not thy Harry Potter or thee Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Thou art not my creations. Some parts of this chapter are quoted directly from the_ _Order of the Phoenix_ _, which belongs to J.K. Rowling._

* * *

Chapter 10

"What d'you reckon is going on there?" asked Ron suspiciously as Rachel basically skipped back to the Slytherin table and sat down next to Malfoy, who immediately started talking to her. But my attention wasn't on him or Hermione — it was on Percy and Annabeth, who were both staring intensely at each other, seemingly having a conversation with just their eyebrows. They both knew something we didn't, either about Rachel or Draco, or both, and weren't telling us just yet.

But there was something else too. It seemed, ever since we met them, that Percy and Annabeth had a larger secret that they weren't intent on sharing with us at all. I knew Dumbledore had already told us that they were different from us, wizards in their own way, but I suspected that there was more to it than just that.

Finally, Percy and Annabeth broke their gazing at each other and turned to face us. Hermione and Ron were still chatting about what was with Rachel and her new connection to Malfoy, and Percy and Annabeth seemed surprised to see me looking at them. I quickly averted my gaze.

Annabeth lay her head on Percy's shoulder, and he placed a steady arm around my waist. They were so perfect for each other — no one could ever deny it. I sighed quietly, wishing that someone would love me like that someday.

Fred and George made a detour over to our side of a table to try and interest us in their new Skiving Snackboxes. "They're great if you just want to get off of going to class one day. The only issue is that we still haven't gotten an antidote for the Nosebleed Nougat yet… working on that," announced Fred. Percy, who'd looked mildly interested the first time he saw the boxes full of pills for skiving classes, hastily backed off when he said they still didn't have an antidote.

"Oh, come off it, you two. You're not even supposed to be selling that awful stuff," Hermione reprimanded angrily.

"Says who? Ickle Ronniekins here?" asked George, and Ron's ears turned the color of beets.

"Well, him and me. We're Prefects. You have to stop all of this nonsense," she informed them in a slightly bossy voice.

"Leave me out of it," said Ron hastily. "I don't want to get in a fight with my brothers," he added as Hermione turned to give him her death-glare. I ignored them, staring slightly wistfully at the Skiving Snackboxes. We had Potions with the Ravenclaws and then Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins this afternoon. I wasn't looking forward to either class, especially after Dolores Umbridge had made her speech last night. Maybe I should take one of Fred and George's pills and skip — even if I was bleeding until my nose shriveled up dry and Hermione would never let me hear the end of it.

Too soon, lunch was over and it was time for Hermione, Ron and I to go to class while Annabeth and Percy had a break hour. Sadly, I hadn't had much of a chance to buy a Nosebleed Nougat (but Hermione would never let me anyway). But I sighed and got up with Hermione and Ron to walk to Potions.

Ron and Hermione were still bickering loudly over being Prefects and having to be responsible and the twins' Snackboxes; I ignored their fighting as I had so much in previous years at Hogwarts. It would make me so extremely happy if they would stop arguing one day and make up and never fight again.

We entered the classroom and made our way to our regular table at the back of the classroom, Ron and Hermione arguing with their eyes now and occasionally making odd sounds. Snape entered the dungeon classroom promptly and closed the door behind him, causing everyone to fall silent immediately.

"Before we start today's lesson," said Snape, sweeping over to his desk and staring around at them all, "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your O.W.L., or suffer my… displeasure. After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me," Snape went on. "I take only the very best into my N.E.W.T. Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying good-bye." He continued on with his little eloquent speech, and I listened to him only half-heartedly, especially after he threw me some particularly nasty looks. Finally, he ended his speech about O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s and whatnot, and told us the lesson for today, which was to successfully concoct a Draught of Peace. He flicked his wand to put the instructions on the board and told us to be finished in exactly an hour and a half.

The potion that Snape gave us on the first day of school could not be more complicated. The ingredients had to be added to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantities; the mixture had to be stirred exactly the right number of times, firstly in clockwise, then in counterclockwise directions; the heat of the flames on which it was simmering had to be lowered to exactly the right level for a specific number of minutes before the final ingredient was added _._ I suddenly wished that I had bought a Nosebleed Nougat from Fred and George; anything besides being _here._

After an hour and a half, my cauldron was emitting a dark gray fume quite unlike Snape's description of a silvery vapor (which was, of course, matched perfectly by Hermione's cauldron), Ron's was spitting sparks, and Seamus's had basically blown up like everything else he did in Potions class. Snape stopped by my cauldron and smirked at the dark gray substance swirling inside. "What is _that,_ Potter?" According to Snape, I had completely forgotten to add one of the ingredients, syrup of hellebore, and so my Draught of Peace was utterly useless. " _Evanesco,_ " said Snape, flicking his wand, and all of the contents of my cauldron vanished with the Transfiguration spell. I gritted my teeth to prevent myself from kicking his shins under the table; he would have deserved it. Snape gave out the homework: a whole foot of parchment on the properties and uses of moonstone for Thursday.

The bell rang and I packed up my things, walking out of the dungeon as fast as I could, with Hermione and Ron in tow. Anything to get out of Snape's way. The amount of homework I already had for this week was a mountain; how would it be the rest of the year? I must've blanched, because Hermione stared at me. But I shook my head, and she finally turned away. The three of us made our way to the Defense classroom.

Umbridge was wearing a ridiculous amount of pink like she had at the feast last night, sitting in her chair as she wrote on the board with her wand. She looked so toadlike that I wouldn't be surprised if a long pink tongue came out of her mouth. After getting _the entire class_ to say hello, she told us to put our wands away. I immediately became bored; DADA classes without wands were always horrible.

"This year we will be following a Ministry-approved course curriculum, and I hope none of you give too much trouble." She looked at me sharply. "We shan't be studying with wands at all, dears, so I'd be glad to not see any of them out this year. All you'll need is your textbook, _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard, and some parchment and your quill. Please write down the course aims on the blackboard." We all wrote down the rather stupid "course aims", and the air was full of resentment.

"Now, please turn to chapter one and start reading, take notes while you do so. Yes, dear? Do you have a question about the chapter?" Umbridge twittered in an unpleasantly fake sweet voice, as Hermione had raised her hand.

"No, Professor, I'd rather like to ask about the course aims." Umbridge's eyes narrowed slightly and she opened her mouth to speak, but Hermione beat her again. "There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells. Isn't that the whole point of Defense classes? To know how to use the spells?"

"Yes, and through reading Mr. Slinkhard's book, you should be able to do so." Hermione tried to speak again, but I had raised my hand, now wanting to ask a question to this arrogant Ministry woman. "Yes, and what would your name be?" she said, obviously annoyed now.

"Harry Potter. I wonder, Professor Umbridge, how we're supposed to fight in the real world if we aren't learning how to use spells in this class?" I asked, trying to hide my anger.

"Well, Mr. Potter, there's no need for you to know how to _perform_ these spells, as long as you know the theory. I hope you don't expect to be attacked in my classroom?"

"No, but —"

"Then there is nothing to worry about. Unless you worry of being attacked?" she asked rather arrogantly, her voice still dripping honey.

"Yes, maybe by — oh, I don't know, maybe _Voldemort?"_

Umbridge squeaked a little when I said this, but otherwise seemed to just get angrier. "You have been told that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, a certain Dark wizard, has returned from the dead. _This is a lie_. He will not attack you."

"NO, it's not a lie! I saw him come to life, he was revived in a graveyard at the end of last year, and if we're in the real world, there's no way we can protect ourselves with _magical theory_! Voldemort is very much back, very much alive, I saw it with my own eyes, I fought him!" My voice kept raising, even though I knew that I should shut up lest I want detention with Umbridge. I didn't reach shouting level, but was pretty close.

Umbridge stared at me, apparently unable to think of how to respond to my outburst. Hands were raised all around the classroom, not just Ron and Hermione but also Dean Thomas, a handful of other Gryffindors, and even two hands on the Slytherin side of the room — Rachel Dare's hand was upright in the air, and there seemed to be a green-tinged aura starting to glow around her frame. But I didn't even look at the strange light surrounding her for more than a moment, because the other Slytherin raising his hand was Draco Malfoy. My mouth almost dropped in surprise when I heard Umbridge say, her voice deadly poisonous, " _Put. Your. Hands. Down._ " Reluctantly, everyone's hands went down, the last one being Rachel's. The green aura surrounding her glowed faintly before disappearing, and I wondered whether or not I'd just hallucinated that.

"Detention tomorrow evening, Mr. Potter. Five o'clock. My office." Umbridge said quietly, seething with rage, her voice full of venom like a snake about to strike.

* * *

Annabeth and I decided to go back to the common room before our Potions class and get started on the homework McGonagall had given us. Annabeth walked around the room once to make sure there was no one else in the room before sitting down with me at a table and demanding, "Tell me."

So I did. I started out with the dream I'd had at Camp Half-Blood, the one with Draco Malfoy and the Slytherin banner under it, and the Sorting Hat. She said nothing, but motioned for me to go on. I then told her every detail about the dream I'd had last night — from Rachel's prophecy repeating in my head again to Draco under the Ravenclaw and Slytherin banners that moved on their own accord. "And then he said, ' _That girl… I've seen her before. But she can't… she's in Gryffindor. She's one of Potter's friends.'_ That's got to reference to you, Annabeth. And then he said, ' _Clever Wisdom, cunning Snake… help me find my way. Great Ocean, you have to understand. It is not my fault.'_ And he ran."

Annabeth looked at me with concern. "I don't get it. So he was definitely mentioning me, but what about _Clever Wisdom, cunning Snake,_ and _Great Ocean._ Maybe he's figured it out, Percy? What if he knows we're demigods?"

I didn't say anything. There was nothing I could say to reassure her. Draco Malfoy might know that we were demigods… but how he figured it out so quickly puzzled me enough to give me a headache. There was only one possibility. "Annabeth," I started, hesitant, "I had a thought, just at lunch today. If Draco has figured out we're demigods, a daughter of Athena and a son of Poseidon, the only way he could've found out so quickly would be if he — if he himself was a — a demigod." I looked at her, hoping she'd find a loophole I'd missed.

And she had. "But Seaweed Brain, he'd have been hunted down by monsters if he was a demigod already."

"Maybe Hogwarts has protection against other monsters."

"No doubt, but Malfoy goes back to his house in the Wizarding world every summer, and he'd be attacked there, wouldn't he?" And my shoulders slumped; there was no pursuing it. Draco Malfoy was not a demigod. But his _eyes_. _His eyes_. They were exactly like Annabeth's, and Athena's eyes. That was no coincidence, no matter what anyone said. What had Rachel said during lunch? Draco Malfoy came from an old, pureblood family. His mother and his father were pure blooded wizards. So, no, Draco wouldn't have a single ounce of godly ichor in his veins.

Where did that leave us?

It left Annabeth and I no longer pondering my dreams about Draco Malfoy, and it left me staring down at the blank roll of parchment that I needed to turn into an essay without writing in ancient Greek. As much as I wanted to take my time to figure out Draco Malfoy, it wasn't going to happen, at least not until I could talk to Rachel again. I sighed and lowered my eagle quill into its ink pot and started to scribble about Animagi.

Potions class was not nearly as difficult as Ron and Harry had said it would be. There were only nine students in the class, though; besides us, there were four Ravenclaws and three Slytherins — no timid Hufflepuffs, strangely. Professor Snape, the Potions teacher, started us off with a particularly difficult potion, though he said it was "fifth-year material" and that his previous class of fifth years had completed it fairly successfully, so all of us were expected to complete it as easily as if it was a warm-up for the year.

"You are to make a Draught of Peace, following the instructions on the board (the instructions appeared there). At the end of the hour, I want all of you to fill one flagon, clearly labeled with your name, with your result. Consider this task a simple wake-up for all of you moronic students who have forgotten everything about potion-making over the summer holidays."

And so we began. I grabbed all of the ingredients listed on the blackboard, after a small bout of dyslexia where I couldn't read them, and set them out on my table. It wasn't that hard, I found, especially with all of the new information from Professor Dumbledore in my head, and it was a lot easier than taking Transfiguration notes in class — the only issue I had was my sloppy reading of the blackboard with my dyslexia, but I could work through that. I could work much better with a hands-on project than with reading and sitting still for an hour. Annabeth, however, wasn't as successful, being the bookworm type, and stared incredulously as I added ingredient after ingredient into my cauldron, stirring and smashing, waving my wand, and muttering incantations.

Potions was already my favorite class, and I hadn't taken over half of them yet. I could appreciate a hands-on class. At the end of the hour, I poured a spoonful of silvery-blue, steaming Draught of Peace into a flask and gave it to Professor Snape, who stared at me, confused as to how I was in his class. I explained that Annabeth and I were exchange students from the United States, and how Dumbledore had agreed to let us take this class.

"Where are your schedules, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Chase? May I see them?" His question was not asking for permission, but rather an order. I pulled my timetable out of my bag and handed it to him.

"Very well, and the headmaster has agreed that you both should take N.E.W.T. Potions?" We nodded. "I see. Well, I hope you prove a good addition to this class. Do not disappoint me." And with a swish of his black robes, he turned and left to get the rest of the class's flasks, Annabeth's and mine in his hand.

"I see that not all of you are incompetent potion makers. Now, homework is sixteen inches of parchment on the ingredients of the Polyjuice Potion and what else they are used for, due on Wednesday. You are dismissed," he said, just as the bell rung. Annabeth and I packed up and left Potions, and I had an unerasable smile on my face.

Annabeth gave me an odd look,but I just said, "I really really like Potions class." She rolled her eyes, but said nothing else.

In Herbology, we started learning about the properties of Venomous Tentacula. Sprout decided to go easy on us, and only gave us half a roll of parchment on the physical appearance and anatomy of the Venomous Tentacula.

Annabeth and I then went to walk back to Gryffindor tower. I enclosed my hand in hers and squeezed it as we walked through the halls — it seemed like it'd been forever since we'd gotten to appreciate being together alone (we'd been too focused on the Transfiguration essay during our free period). The halls were almost empty, so we were almost completely alone anyway. I turned my head sideways and kissed Annabeth's forehead, and she leaned on my shoulder.

"I love you, Seaweed Brain," she said, looking up at me. I smiled against her hair.

"I love you too, Wise Girl." Just then, Hermione rounded a corner and almost walked into us, mumbling incoherently about equations and parabolas — apparently she'd just been in Arithmancy. Annabeth and I, both having taken geometry classes back in the U.S., stared at each other with exasperation.

"Oh, hello! I was just heading up to Gryffindor tower, done with Arithmancy…"

"Yeah, us too," Annabeth said, her head away from my shoulder but her warm hand still rubbing against mine.

"How was your afternoon, then?" Hermione asked, walking by us. "I heard you had Potions with Snape. At least you didn't have Defense. Umbridge is awful, she said we wouldn't be learning anything but _theory_." She cursed under her breath. "Damned woman. How was Potions, anyway?"

"It was _awesome_ ," I said. "I love potions. Favorite class so far." Both Annabeth and Hermione gave me a very strange look. "What? Oh, sure, Snape's bad, but potion-making is great." They both gave me another unbelieving look before striking up a conversation about Herbology and Venomous Tentacula. I tuned them out the rest of the way up to the common room, letting my mind wander yet again to the issue of Draco Malfoy. So he wasn't a demigod. But he couldn't be a full wizard either, not with how fast he figured out that we were children of the gods. Or maybe my dream wasn't actually real, and Malfoy hadn't been in the Great Hall last night. I shook my head.

No, I was sure that Malfoy had been down there last night. There was the storm and the lightning… oh, gods. I really needed to speak to Rachel soon. Annabeth pulled me out of my reverie when we reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. " _Snargaluff,"_ said Hermione, and we were admitted into the now-full common room.

Harry and Ron were sitting in a corner, deep in conversation, half-completed rolls of parchment sitting completely forgotten between them. Annabeth, Hermione and I all sat down, and the two boys looked at us. "We were just — er, we were working on our war essays for Binns," Ron lied, his ears turning a red much like his hair.

"Uh-huh. And You-Know-Who is a girl. Now tell me what you really are up to," demanded Hermione, sitting herself by Harry and pulling out her Arithmancy homework — geometry, by the looks of it.

"Fine. We were talking about Malfoy and Rachel, and that horrible excuse of a witch Umbridge." I leaned in, suddenly interested. "Don't you think it was strange how Malfoy raised his hand to say something to Umbridge after Harry shouted at her?"

"I didn't _shout_ ," mumbled Harry, irritated.

"Yes, you did. That's not the point. Malfoy raised his hand, and all the rest of the Slytherins looked like they wanted to be Umbridge's best friends, by the smug smirks on their faces… and then Rachel raised her hand too, she looked like she was green —"

"No," Harry interrupted again. "There was like an _aura_ around her, it was glowing neon green. So strange. You wouldn't happen to know what it was, do you?" he asked Annabeth and I.

I tried to keep my face blank, but all it turned into was a mask of horror. Annabeth, having had way more practice than I had and being a daughter of Athena, just looked confused, but my face gave it all away…

"You _do_ know! So, what is it?" Hermione leaned forward, her amber eyes excited.

"Um… I don't know what you're talking about?" I said in a feeble attempt, but all three of the wizards before me glared. "Alright, I do know. But Chi — er, Mr. Brunner, told us that we couldn't tell you. I'm sorry. It's also Rachel's secret to tell, not mine."

"You mean the white centaur at your summer camp?" asked Ron. "Blimey, now that I think of him, he doesn't look _anything_ like the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest. Harry, you've seen Firenze, he's not like Mr. Brunner." Harry nodded at this.

But Hermione wouldn't let it go. She stared hard at Annabeth and I, and I immediately knew that there was no keeping it from her for too long. I would try, though. It would be best for Hermione, Ron, Harry, and the rest of the Wizarding world to stay ignorant to the Greek gods.

Thankfully, Annabeth laughed and saved me. "Well, I don't know about all of you, but I have a ridiculous amount of homework that I'd like to get started."

Hermione Granger stared relentlessly at me all evening, trying to crack me, but I said nothing, and by the time dinner was over, she had decided to give up for the day and went back to her homework and started knitting hats for something called _spew._ I hoped that she'd forget all about Rachel's prophetic aura and cracking me, but by morning, she was staring rather abusively at me again over the breakfast table.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Draco is a bit OOC in this chapter. It won't last, I promise.**

 **POVs: Percy, Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot. And even some parts of that aren't mine._

* * *

Chapter 11

The rest of the week passed exhaustingly. Although Annabeth and I had a ton of free periods every day, we rarely had enough time to talk at all due to the large amounts of homework we both had for all of our classes. N.E.W.T. level was turning out to be exactly what it was named — Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, minus the whole "testing" part. So the issue about Rachel and Draco Malfoy didn't come up again, though Rachel came to talk to us almost every morning at breakfast and sometimes during lunch.

Harry woke me up late on Friday, having just woken up himself. It was nearly seven o'clock already, and we should have been down in the Great Hall. Ron, Harry and I all dressed quickly and ran out of the boys' room in Gryffindor Tower.

By the time we got down to breakfast, the tables were completely crowded. The three of us quickly found a seat with Annabeth and Hermione, who had come down earlier and were now discussing Ancient Runes. "Finally decided to get up, then?" Hermione asked a bit smugly.

"Yeah, well, Seamus and Dean decided to let us wake up on our own instead of getting us up themselves. What with Seamus still believing everything in the _Daily Prophet_ …" Harry said bitterly. It wasn't news, of course, that Seamus' mother had believed everything in the wizarding newspaper, and therefore, Seamus also believed all of it.

The owl post came then, although it wasn't as much as there was on Mondays. Merlin came in with a Daily Prophet for Hermione and Annabeth, but no other owls landed in our section of the table.

It was halfway through a quiet breakfast when Rachel came over to the Gryffindor table once again, though we were all used to it by now. What we didn't expect was for her to plop down at the table and tell us that Draco Malfoy wanted to talk to Annabeth and I. The two of us shared a wary look when she said this.

"What? Oh, come on, you two! Draco just wants to speak to you. He's already apologized to you for his behavior on the bus." This was true, and I grumbled a bit. On Wednesday, Draco had somehow bumped into us in the halls and muttered his apologies. He hadn't looked up at all, though, which caused me to keep wondering if my dream about him in the Great Hall had been real.

Otherwise, though, we hadn't spoken to Malfoy all week.

"He wants to talk to you during lunch today, but —" she sighed, "— he doesn't want to be seen at the Gryffindor table." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he was wondering if you could meet somewhere outside?"

Before I could tell her that he should suck it up and come to the Gryffindor table or not talk with us at all, Annabeth spoke up. "Sure. We'll meet him by the Black Lake at lunch."

"Great!" Rachel exclaimed, obviously elated. She promptly began a conversation about Quidditch and when tryouts were. "I want to try out for the team," she said. As Ron and she began to talk about the magical airborne sport, McGonagall came around with the schedules for the day. She handed Annabeth and I ours, and I sighed in both relief and exasperation.

Relief because we only had two subjects today (well, Annabeth had Ancient Runes, so technically I had only two subjects today). Exasperation because one of those subjects had to be double Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins. The memory of my first DADA lesson of the year, earlier this week, was still fresh in my mind: Umbridge had proved just how poisonous she could be by assigning detention to three students who claimed they shouldn't just be studying theory of spells, but practicing them. I wasn't surprised. I had wanted the same; but I decided it best if I kept my mouth shut and didn't get a detention. If I could get on this woman's good side early on, I might be able to wheedle stuff out of her in the future. Annabeth had wholeheartedly agreed, and we spent the hour of Defense pretending to read from the boring textbook. Or at least _I_ had pretended to read; my dyslexia was making everything swirl on the pages in a very frustrating manner. Annabeth seemed to have figured out a spell to switch all the text she read from English to Greek.

Matters got even worse when Harry came back from _his_ own detention with Umbridge. He'd gone not only on Tuesday but every other day of the week as well. One night when he came in the dormitory, I saw that the back of his hand was bleeding a bit, but he covered it hastily when I asked how the detention had gone and said, "Er… just lines." I had been the only one who'd seen the blood, and had seen very faint scars on the back of his hand that night after waking from another nightmare about the Oracle. The scars seemed to be in a pattern, and were cut too deep to be random. I had resolved to find out what Umbridge was doing to Harry, but hadn't figured anything out yet.

He had yet another detention this evening, which hadn't gone well when Angelina Johnson, the Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor, had found out that he couldn't go to tryouts this evening. Ron had told me in secret that he was planning on trying out for Keeper, the kind of goalie, and suggested I try out for Chaser. I'd been sneaking out with his broom (which he let me use as long as I took good care of it) every chance I got, and one night went out with him.

"Wow, mate! You're sure fast on that. You really should consider trying out for Quidditch," he'd told me. I silently agreed — normally, I _hated_ flying, what with Zeus's grudge against Poseidon, but being on a broomstick felt natural and wonderful, and I could go pretty darn fast on Ron's broom when I wanted to. I had resolved to show up for Quidditch tryouts this evening. But first — classes.

Transfiguration passed fairly quickly with McGonagall setting us a mountain of homework for the weekend, including not only an essay but also practicing nonverbal spells. Then there was Defense Against the Dark Arts, where even more people were assigned detention for speaking up either without raising their hand or against the theory of magic textbook. Annabeth and I just stared at the textbook and took notes the entire two hours of the class, only looking up whenever someone tried to insult Umbridge with a question about the Ministry. She tried to ignore those raised hands as often as she could, and eventually her method worked. Everyone decided that their arms were too tired to keep them up too much, and after assigning four more detentions, the class lapsed into utter silence except for the sound of quills scratching on parchment.

At lunch, Annabeth and I passed only briefly by the Great Hall to grab some food and headed outside the castle to the Black Lake, where Draco was waiting to talk to us. The day outside was gray-skied and dull, not a speck of blue sky anywhere, but not raining either. I suddenly felt an unexpected pang of loss for Camp Half-Blood and the always-blue skies due to how the clouds and storms passed around the area.

Malfoy was sitting by a tree next to the lake, his back to us, speaking to a large mound of curly red hair I recognized as Rachel. We both walked up to them and sat down. Malfoy looked a bit surprised at seeing us here and then started to talk.

"Well, I never really formally introduced myself to you," he said by way of greeting, and extended a hand. "I'm Draco Malfoy."

I shook the pale hand in front of me. "I'm Percy Jackson." He then shook Annabeth's outstretched hand as she said, "Annabeth Chase. Pleasure to meet you." Maybe it was just my imagination, but his eyes seemed to narrow a bit at her name.

"Well, anyway, Rachel's told me all about how you three have come from the United States." He arched an eyebrow. "But let's face it; you're not normal wizards."

His statement was so blunt and straightforward that I almost choked on the muffin I was eating. "Excuse me?" Annabeth asked, acting innocent. _Did Rachel tell him?_

"I've known it since I first saw you. Firstly, you're the first _ever_ exchange students Hogwarts has ever seen. And you, especially, Jackson, you were right in my face and quite arrogant back on the Express." I hung my head, slightly ashamed as I remembered my outburst. "Wizards would just pull out their wands, not get in someone's face and almost punch him."

"And, pardon me if it is otherwise, but you seem familiar to me, Annabeth." Her eyes widened at this, and I could see now, the two of them sitting side by side, how precisely Draco's eye shade matched Annabeth's. That was no coincidence, no matter what someone said to me.

"I'm sorry, Draco, but I've never seen you before in my life."

"Maybe I'm mistaken. But I distinctly recall your face in a memory from a while ago." He then muttered something about a _penn-seev_. Whatever that was. Annabeth stared at him, looking confused, but at the same time the cogs in her head seemed to be spinning fast. The conversation we'd had earlier this week about Draco being a demigod suddenly popped back into my head.

"Could you tell me, Draco, about your family?" Annabeth asked. Another thought came to my head so fast I thought I'd explode.

"Yes," he said eagerly. "The Malfoys are a long line of pure-blooded witches and wizards. My mother is Narcissa Malfoy, neé Black. My father is Lucius Malfoy. All we know about his side of the family is that his father was Abraxas Malfoy, but we never found out who my grandmother on the Malfoy side was. All I know is that she was a pureblood." Annabeth turned to me, eyes wide with surprise, and everything seemed to click into place. I knew exactly what she was thinking.

Perhaps Draco Malfoy wasn't a demigod. But that didn't mean he couldn't be descended from one.

* * *

I had decided not to tell Hermione or Ron about what had happened in Umbridge's horribly frilly and pink office every night this week, though I could feel the memory burning on the back of my right hand. _I must not tell lies._ But it didn't deter me. I wasn't going to give up on fighting Umbridge, no matter how long and how many detentions it took for her to see that Voldemort was back, he _was_ fighting, and he was raising an army of Death Eaters at the very moment. Angelina had been really angry with me when she found out I couldn't attend Quidditch tryouts for the team. "We've got to get a new Keeper and a new Chaser this year, Oliver's gone and so is Alicia, and next year the Weasleys will be gone too…" She'd walked off nearly ripping her hair out of her skull. I already knew that Ron intended to try out as Keeper, and Percy wanted to try out for Chaser, although how he could fly on a broom after being exposed to the Wizarding world for only a couple of weeks I had no clue.

I was not at all thrilled to learn that I had two hours' worth of Defense Against the Dark Arts today, as well as Potions and Care of Magical Creatures. What was worrying me the most about that class was that Professor Grubbly-Plank was still filling in for Hagrid, and none of us had seen him all year. He couldn't be gone, or Grubbly-Plank would have just taken over the Creatures class, but no one had no idea where he could have gone.

The entire school day was completely sullen and gray, and I found myself constantly worrying over the large pile of homework I had. It was like we had tests every day, the amount of studying we had to do.

When I walked into Umbridge's office, she only gave me a disgustingly sweet greeting before giving me back her special quill and some parchment. I set down to write the lines on the paper: _I must not tell lies. I must not tell lies. I must not tell lies._ The scars that had only recently sealed on the back of my hand opened up immediately and bled. I worked well into the evening, watching the Quidditch tryouts through the window whenever I could look up without Umbridge noticing. But we were so far from the Quidditch pitch that all I could tell was if the Keeper did good or not: I wasn't sure who was Ron and how he did.

The Chaser tryouts started well after it had gotten dark, so I couldn't even see the people trying out. I could only hope that Percy and Ron had gotten on the Quidditch team as I wrote, over and over again on my hand: _I must not tell lies._

Around nine o'clock, Umbridge finally took a look at my hand. Just as she grabbed my forearm to see if her message had "sunk in" enough, a searing pain shot across my forehead. I wrenched my arm out of her grasp, surprised and my scar still tingling. "Yes, it hurts, doesn't it?" Umbridge asked malevolently. I didn't say anything, still trying to figure out why my scar hurt.

"Very well then, Mr. Potter, I think that you can go now." I didn't hesitate, ripping my books from the chair and walking out of her office, then running once I was sure she couldn't see me. I leapt up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, snapped the password to the Fat Lady, who swung forward to admit me, and almost ran into a wall of people.

"Oy, mate! Harry!" I could see Ron standing next to Percy, both of them with their arms around each other's shoulders, drinking butterbeers. "We both made it! I'm Keeper, and Percy's Chaser!" Everyone around them was celebrating.

"What?" I'd completely forgotten about the Quidditch tryouts in my little scar's episode. "Oh, great! That's great!" I tried to smile at him and hastily hid my right hand under my robes so neither of them could see the drops of blood still oozing from the freshly-opened scars. "Where've Hermione and Annabeth gone?"

"They're over there," said George, pointing at a large poofy couch by the fireplace, where Hermione had fallen asleep, a half-knitten elf hat in her hands, and Annabeth was scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment in a language I didn't recognize — probably an Ancient Runes paper.

"Let Hermione sleep," said Fred worriedly, and I realized that they had been testing out their new Skiving Snackboxes pills on little first-years around the room, all of them showing signs of nosebleeds.

Just then, Angelina walked up to me, scratching the back of her head. "Sorry I was a bit short with you earlier, Potter," she said abruptly. "It's stressful, this managing lark, you know, I'm starting to think I was a bit hard on Wood sometimes." She was watching Ron over the rim of her goblet with a slight frown on her face.

"Look, I know he's your best mate, but he's not fabulous," she said bluntly. "I think with a bit of training he'll be all right, though. He comes from a family of good Quidditch players. I'm banking on him turning out to have a bit more talent than he showed today, to be honest. Vicky Frobisher and Geoffrey Hooper both flew better this evening, but Hooper's a real whiner, he's always moaning about something or other, and Vicky's involved in all sorts of societies, she admitted herself that if training clashed with her Charm Club she'd put Charms first. Anyway, we're having a practice session at two o'clock tomorrow, so just make sure you're there this time. And do me a favor and help Ron as much as you can, okay?"

I nodded and she walked away to join Katie Bell, who was giving Ron Oliver's old Quidditch robes. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to Hermione, looking at Annabeth's piece of parchment. It was now written in English, though I could swear it had had some strange characters on it just a few seconds ago…

Hermione awoke with a start, and I was glad she had. I needed to tell someone about my scar hurting when Umbridge touched me, I couldn't have another Quirrell with Voldemort on the back of his head… but that wouldn't happen, now that Voldemort had his own body back.

I explained what had happened in a hushed voice, and she looked concerned. "But it couldn't be like how You-Know-Who possessed Quirrell in first year, Harry, he has his own body, he wouldn't be acting through someone else, would he?" She frowned. "Besides, Harry, as much as I loathe that awful woman, Umbridge is not with the Dark Arts. She's a Ministry woman, and _he_ hasn't taken over the Ministry yet, as far as we know." Privately, though, I disagreed. How could making me write lines in my own blood not be Dark magic?

"Besides," Hermione started again, "last year your scar hurt without anyone touching you. You should tell Dumbledore about this, Harry. He'll know what to think of it." And with no more words, she went back to knitting her hats for S.P.E.W.

Percy came back over after a while and sat down next to Annabeth, placing his arm around her. "Haven't finished that homework yet?" he asked, and then, in a lower voice (but I could still hear him), he said, "We need to talk about what Malfoy said."

Annabeth looked up at him and muttered something about her Transfiguration essay. "Fine, then, tomorrow. I have Quidditch at two, but we can talk before that. And it's Saturday!" Annabeth agreed and Percy gave her a quick kiss before heading up to the boys dormitory.

And I was left thinking: what did Draco Malfoy say to the two of them during lunch today that could be so important? And why hadn't they told Hermione, Ron or I any of it yet?


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: As always, I appreciate constructive criticism, ego-inflating comments, ideas for the plot, and whatever you have to offer. But if you hate this story, you don't have to spill your negativity in the reviews. Just don't read my story anymore.**

 **POVs: Harry, Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I wouldn't be writing fanfiction for it if I owned it. ;)_

* * *

Chapter 12

I decided to completely ignore Hermione's advice to go tell Dumbledore about my scar, at least for now. I ignored it as much as I did Percy's advice when I was changing for bed and he took notice of the scars on the back of my hand. Before I could hide it away, he'd grabbed my right hand and was staring at the now-clearly-readable marks there.

"Harry, is this what you meant when Umbridge was giving you lines? Is this what that horrible woman gave you for detention?" he asked, voice obviously full of concern. " _I must not tell lies_? But all you told her was the truth, from what Ron and Hermione told me!"

"Yeah, well," I started, muttering under my breath so low that I doubted he could hear what I was saying, "that evil woman is convinced that Voldemort isn't back yet." I was still startled when Percy didn't flinch away from the name the way everyone else did, before reminding myself that he and Annabeth hadn't ever heard of him before coming into the Wizarding world.

"But why?" Percy asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Because she's from the Ministry, Percy!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in exasperation. "Remember all of those articles in the _Daily Prophet_ about how I lied and Voldemort isn't back from the dead? She's very close to Fudge, no doubt that's why she believes in her truly messed-up heart that Voldemort can't be back and that I'm lying. They've put Dumbledore out, too!"

Percy didn't seem fazed in the least about my outburst. Instead, he just dropped my arm and glared at it as if doing so would somehow get rid of Umbridge.

"That woman. That…" He swore violently. "Well, with her teaching Defense this year, we're not going to be learning much. We should find an alternate solution."

"As in what?" I asked him, irritated, folding my arms over my chest.

"Getting a new teacher. Getting a substitute. Someone who can _actually_ teach us _real_ magic." He stopped and seemed to hesitate for a second, looking me in the eyes. "Someone like you, Harry."

My eyes widened ridiculously quickly, and I blinked spasmodically several times. "Wait, what? _Me?_ B-but I —"

"Are a perfectly capable wizard who has experienced multiple things none of us ever have. I might have had a lot of experience in battle, sure" — he paused as I raised my eyebrows in question, then hastily continued — "but you've had a ton more experience with Voldemort and defeating him. You were the only person in the graveyard last year, and you were the only person he dueled. And _you got away_. Not only last year, but the three years before that too. So don't even try to deny you're a great wizard. It's not like your want did all those things on its own."

I snorted, internally half in disagreement. Percy wasn't paying attention anymore and was staring at some random spot over my head, apparently deep in thought. I tore my attention from him and started to dress for bed.

He only snapped out of his small reverie when I hopped onto my bed and was about to close the curtains. "Wait, Harry. This is actually a good idea. You should teach us all real Defense Against the Dark Arts. We could get some other people to do it. I'm sure Annabeth, Hermione and Ron would agree and do it. Maybe I could ask Rachel too…" He brought his eyes back to me. "Anyway, at least think about it, will you?" I nodded, too exhausted from the day to do anything else, too exhausted to even think about what Percy had said to Annabeth earlier and to worry about the secrets they were keeping from us. I drew the curtains around my bed.

The next morning, I was faced by a very determined Hermione. She wanted to know what had happened with Umbridge the night before and why my hand had been bleeding. So she _had_ noticed.

In a low voice so no one but the four people surrounding me could hear, I described the previous five detentions I'd had with Umbridge. Percy, Annabeth, Hermione, and Ron all listened intently, Hermione's face half-hidden behind today's copy of _The Daily Prophet._ I tried to downplay it as much as possible, not describing in too much detail what she'd made me do. I was also resentful while I told the four of them, but I couldn't lie because Hermione would come after me and Percy already knew.

Annabeth, who I'd expected to react strongly, only watched me half-warily as if she heard news much worse than this every day. Suddenly, I wondered if she'd seen anyone die —and then immediately realized that she had. Of course — she'd been able to see the thestrals on the first night of school. As she stared at me, I noticed the color of her eyes; they were a stunning swirling gray, like storm clouds, intelligent. And suddenly, I had the strangest sense of deja vu: I'd seen those eyes before, thousands of times before. But where?

I shook my head, tearing my eyes away from the girl, and turned to Hermione, who was having the reaction I'd expected. Her chocolate brown eyes were round with surprise and hatred for Umbridge. "That — that — that absolute —" She swore, a rare sound for anyone who knew Hermione. "How could she do something like that? _To a student_ , no less! Harry, you _really_ need to tell someone about this!" She was basically panting, her eyes wild, determined to bring down the Ministry's puppet. The untameable bush of frizz framing her face accented her wild tone.

"No, Hermione," I started, anger bubbling up inside me inexplicably. "I can't tell anyone! How do you think they'd react? They'd go and tell Umbridge off, and then she'd have them sacked from Hogwarts under the Ministry's orders! I can't tell anyone!"

"What about Dumbledore? You should tell him this!" She just wouldn't give up.

"Oh, Hermione, give it a rest," said Ron, though he looked concerned about the lines written in the back of my hand. She opened her mouth once again to retort, but I decided to shut her up before the discussion could go any further.

"Hey, Percy had an interesting idea last night," I started, much to Percy's surprise. Hermione's eyes narrowed, but she kept her mouth shut for me to go on, suddenly hooked. She couldn't resist. "He thought since Umbridge won't teach us anything useful this year, we should have a replacement teacher to teach us real spells and how to defend ourselves against Dark magic." I swallowed; Hermione and Annabeth were already very interested, hopefully distracted from the scars on my hand for the moment.

Percy spoke up, keeping his voice low so that the obviously eavesdropping Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil couldn't hear. "I think Harry should teach us. I mean, why not?" he added as Ron and Hermione gave him slightly incredulous looks. "He's the most experienced of the five of us in protecting himself against the Dark Arts. Just think about it! Umbridge wouldn't know, Harry would teach us, and we could be better protected against the Death Eaters if they suddenly come up with a genius plan to infiltrate Hogwarts!"

As he said this, I saw his right hand move reflexively in the direction of his pocket. Maybe to reach for his wand? But his wand was out on the table, next to his breakfast plate. And there was a slight bulge in his right pocket, possibly the size of a Muggle pen. But why would Percy have a pen in his pocket, and why would he be reaching for it at the mention of Death Eaters?

Suddenly Percy shifted in his seat, and the small point of whatever was in his pocket poked out for a moment. I only got a small glimpse of it — it was metallic, maybe bronze? — before he shifted again and it disappeared back into his robe's pocket.

I raised my eyes to Percy's once again, and from his expression I could tell that he knew I had seen whatever that was in his pocket. His hand went into the pocket and made a fist around something invisible. I raised my eyebrows, but he just stared right back.

Suddenly, Hermione's voice broke into our staring contest. "That's actually not a bad idea," she said, against all of my hopes that she would rule against the whole "Harry as a teacher" idea. I didn't fancy the idea of being a teacher to students of my own age group. It was unsettling and uncomfortable.

"I mean, Harry _does_ know a lot more than we do in the field of defending against the Dark Arts, if you look at all that's happened these past four years…" she said. "He found the Sorcerer's Stone and prevented Voldemort from coming back in first year —"

"It was Dumbledore who destroyed it," I mumbled, but no one heard me: they were intent on Hermione.

"He defeated the basilisk in second year — oh, come _on,_ Harry, that was you and only you, you didn't have any help!" she added when I shook my head and muttered, "Fawkes."

"Then in third year we all found out the truth about Sir — er, Padfoot. Even though Pettigrew got away." I sighed bitterly at this; it still ravaged my mind to think that we'd let the rat scurry away. "And last year, he won the Tri — Quadwizard really — tournament." Hermione turned to face me, that wildness again in her eyes. "I think it's a brilliant idea, Harry. You should teach us! I bet I could round up some other people, there's plenty of them who believe you rather than the _Prophet_ … Luna, Neville, Dean…" she started muttering to herself before coming back to us. "I'd have to put aside S.P.E.W. for a while, of course, I probably won't be able to manage all of it together, but…" She looked at me, calmer this time. "You should definitely think about it, Harry."

I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat, all too aware of the four pairs of eyes on me now. It was a lot of pressure. But it would be a good idea to have _someone_ teaching Defense if Umbridge wouldn't… and I had to agree that I was probably the best candidate for that. There was no contest.

I knew that I'd made up my mind right there and then, but I said I'd think about it instead. And it wasn't like I didn't need time to think, anyway. I had to consider all of my extra homework, the O.W.L.s this year, Quidditch… not to mention Umbridge, who would probably give me detention next Monday again. I groaned internally.

Then there was the issue with Malfoy. Percy had said he wanted to invite Rachel, and I was sure that she'd bring Malfoy along with her to our little training sessions, due to the fact that they still whispered together in every class we had with the Slytherins. And Percy's comment last night to Annabeth… _We need to talk about what Malfoy said._ What did that mean?

I shook my head to try and clear it of my chaotic thoughts, and realized there was yet another thing I needed to worry about right now. My scar had hurt yesterday night with Umbridge when she touched me, and I wanted to know why. It hadn't been hurting for a while now, except when I had those dreams about walking down the dark corridor to the door (I was getting closer and closer to opening it every night) and woke up suddenly.

Annabeth's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Well, I can start getting some people who would want to learn from you, Harry, with Hermione. I'm sure there's a lot of them." She exchanged glances with Percy, who was sitting next to her, and his hand drifted to his right pocket again, clamping around the something I could not see.

I had hoped for a peaceful weekend after my first week of wizarding school, but—no freaking way in Hades that was ever going to happen, the way my teachers were piling up homework for the N.E.W.T. students. Especially Professor Snape; but that homework was the one I least minded. It was the easiest for me to do, with my new-found strange love for Potions.

It would have certainly made my life tons harder if I hadn't asked Annabeth for her spell to switch the text of a book from English to ancient Greek. She'd taught it to me just this morning, and the first time I'd tried it on my Transfiguration textbook, I had mispronounced it so badly that the words ended up shifting to Arabic instead. It had taken a couple of tries and lots of help from my girlfriend to finally get it right; she said she'd gotten it from Dumbledore. The Latin-based incantation was _Vertere Graecus._

I found it extremely ironic that I was using words based off of Latin roots to translate text to ancient Greek. I had laughed my head for fifteen minutes straight this morning when I figured that out.

Now, I sat in the cozy common room, at our regular table, working on homework side-by-side with Ron, Annabeth, Hermione and Harry. Snape was having us work on Polyjuice Potions (he wanted to start us out with the difficult potions), and Annabeth and I had to describe all of the ways Polyjuice Potion could be recognized in a foot-and-a-half-long essay. I wrote the whole thing in Greek, then whispered " _Vertere Inglés_ " in a low voice so Harry, Hermione, and Ron wouldn't hear. The three of them were so focused on Vanishing the scurrying mice in front of them that I doubted they noticed.

Annabeth looked over as I rolled up my finished Potions paper. "Seaweed Brain, how'd you finish that fast? I'm not half done yet, and we both know I'm much smarter."

I smirked at her, then held out my roll of parchment for her to look at. "Wisdom is not the same as intelligence, Wise Girl." Frowning, she reached out to grab the Polyjuice Potion essay. I gave her a peck on the cheek and was reaching for my book bag when she pulled my face to hers and kissed me fiercely.

She had planned to pull away after only a couple of seconds, but I had other ideas. I wound my hands around her waist and she melted into me, kissing me back. We were all tangled up with each other, her hands around my neck and in my hair, my hands on her waist —

And then there was a sound. "I'd normally be disgusted and tell you to stop, but you two are so adorable together that I can't do it." It was Hermione's voice, half-amused and half-irritated. "You don't make your snogging disgusting."

I'd been ignoring her up to now, but at the last words I pulled away from Annabeth, who whimpered a little bit at the coldness. " _What_ did you just say?"

"What? That you two are adorable together?" Hermione asked.

"No. What's _snogging_? It sounds like something two pigs would do."

"Snogging is just… erm…" Hermione blushed, the blood reaching her ears as she looked down in embarrassment. Both Harry and Ron looked up from their mice. "Snogging is, well, _fiercely_ kissing, I suppose." She didn't look up, her cheeks still colored crimson.

I laughed, and so did Annabeth. "Well, I'm so glad that I have your approval to kiss my girlfriend _fiercely_ , Hermione." She blushed an even deeper red, if that was possible, pretending to focus on the mouse scurrying on the table in front of her. She waved her wand, muttering something, and the mouse turned into a billiard ball.

Ron and Harry were both roaring with laughter by now, as Hermione's billiard ball rolled off of the table. Hermione gave a weak smile. Soon, everyone had calmed down and went back to their homework or to fetch a stray billiard ball.

I turned to Annabeth, who had leaned her head on my shoulder, and kissed her forehead. She looked up. "I love you, Seaweed Brain." She kissed me.

"I love you too, Wise Girl. Don't you forget that." I cupped her chin and brought her lips to mine once again, not caring whether or not the trio of fifth-years at the table were watching.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello again my beautiful people! Please review!**

 **POVs: Percy, Harry, Hermione**

 _Disclaimer: If I owned HP, Draco and Hermione would have ended up together. If I owned Percy Jackson… Well, I don't. ;)_

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Chapter 13

The weekend passed far too quickly, what with all of the homework and Quidditch practice. Angelina had us in the air, practicing until we got sores from our brooms (let's just say that they were not in the most comfortable of places). I couldn't say I _adored_ the sport, but flying on a broom was an experience I'd not forget easily. It was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time — I found myself praying to my dad that he wouldn't let Zeus blast me out of the sky. I was only a substitute Chaser, as one other Chaser got onto the Gryffindor team, but the team Captain forced me to stay through the whole practice. And sure, I wasn't as good on a broom as the rest of the Chasers, and I _definitely_ wasn't amazing in the air like Harry or maybe even the three Weasleys, but I could just blame that on my parentage.

Overall, the two days supposedly set aside for rest were anything but that. And with Hermione, Ron, and Harry with us wherever we went, Annabeth and I barely got a private moment, much less any time to talk about our meeting with Draco Malfoy.

Now, lounging around on the common room couches, Annabeth's head on my lap as she furiously typed away on Daedalus' computer (she'd finished her homework already), I tried to focus on my Herbology essay and characteristics chart for the Venomous Tentacula and its monstrous plant cousins that was due tomorrow in Herbology. But it wasn't easy to focus when Hermione was knitting elf hats and silently staring at me in the seat across from mine. And it most definitely was not easy to focus when Harry's eyes were staring at my left hand tightly gripping Anaklusmos in the pocket of my robe.

It made me uneasy, the way Harry had been staring whenever my hand drifted into my pocket to grab Riptide. He knew there was something there, and it was easy to see how much he wanted to find out what it was. But I couldn't just _stop_ myself from holding onto the Celestial bronze sword. It was really the only thing I had left from Camp Half-Blood, the only thing I had to remind me of the world back in Manhattan and on Long Island Sound. I found myself so immersed in wizarding studies that I barely thought of Camp during the day.

Hermione's voice broke through my reverie. "So, Harry, have you decided what you want to do about teaching some kids Defense?" she asked him, and I was grateful that she'd managed to remove his eyes from my pocket.

"Erm… well, I've been thinking about it. I was thinking, though, that maybe I shouldn't be the only teacher." Hermione opened her mouth to retort, an exasperated look on her face, but Harry continued hurriedly. "I mean, Hermione, I'm good at wand magic and that load of stuff, but what would happen if we don't have our wands and it comes to physical fighting? It could happen all the time when kids are at home for the holidays and Death Eaters are prancing about."

Hermione closed her mouth, thinking about it. "Well, that would be a brilliant idea, Harry, but we don't really have anyone who's very good at physical combat. And where would we get weapons?"

"Ahem," Annabeth cleared her throat loudly, looking at me.

"Well, Percy said that he and Annabeth had a lot of experience with physical fighting on the battlefield. Didn't you, Percy?"

I looked up, my face probably on fire, and murmured, "Yeah, I might have mentioned it once or twice…" Annabeth silently raised an eyebrow at me, but I only shrugged. It wasn't like telling them we were good in battle was going to help them figure out what we were. They probably thought that we were taught physical combat back in our American magic school.

Harry turned back to Ron and Hermione. "Well, anyway, I thought that I could teach magic, maybe with you two helping me, and Percy and Annabeth could teach physical training, or something like that," he suggested eagerly. "That way, people will have two ways to defend themselves, even if they're wandless. Like the way you punched Malfoy in third year, Hermione. To be honest, I doubt that Death Eaters are very trained physically." Hermione stared at Harry like he'd lost his mind, but Ron looked thrilled at the idea.

"Harry, _where are we supposed to get weapons?_ " she hissed at him.

His face fell. "I dunno, we also have to figure out _where_ to do the training…"

"Right, well, I'm going to go talk to people we know are on your side, and see if they'd meet us on the first Hogsmeade trip…" She stood up and walked out of the portrait hole.

Harry sighed deeply. "I don't think she's entirely convinced about Percy and Annabeth teaching combat." Ron stared at him, nodding.

"She's mental, completely mental. She was the one who wanted it in the first place, wasn't she?"

"No, Percy actually suggested it first," Harry said defeatedly. "Well, I'm going up to bed. I don't want to be up forever doing this homework, and it's already ten o'clock." And with that, Harry climbed up the staircase to the boys' dormitories, followed closely by Ron.

It was the first time they'd actually left Annabeth and I alone. And the common room was empty save Poseidon and Crookshanks, who leapt up into our laps. Annabeth pointed her wand in a circle around us, murmuring " _Muffliato"_ repeatedly.

"I think this is the only time we have to talk about Draco," Annabeth said, looking up at me from my lap and stowing away Daedalus' laptop.

"Tell me about it," I muttered under my breath. "They won't leave us alone, and I'm positive it's purely intentional. Did you see the way Harry has been staring at my pocket for the last few days whenever my hand goes to it?"

"What, to grab Riptide?"

"Yeah. He's definitely suspicious of something." Annabeth snorted.

"Well, you can tell that Hermione's absolutely suspicious of us. Ron seems to be the only one oblivious to the fact that we're not what we say we are," she said. I twirled with a strand of her golden hair, watching her gray eyes as they looked up at mine.

"Annabeth, there's something strange about Malfoy. I can't put a finger on it. He has the same exact eyes as you do, and yet he's not a demigod. I don't think that's a pure coincidence." Suddenly, she sat up.

"Seaweed Brain, how have you not made the connection yet?" she huffed angrily. "Draco said that he'd seen me before. Then he said that he didn't know his grandmother on his father's side of the family. I think it's pretty obvious what is going on here." I stared at her, unsure of what she would say next.

"Draco Malfoy is related to me, but he's not my half-brother. His _father_ is."

* * *

Annabeth and Percy seemed completely on edge the next morning when they joined us for breakfast, whispering quickly to each other in low voices. Hermione eyed them suspiciously, staring at today's copy of the Wizarding Newspaper.

"Anything new?" Ron asked with his mouth full, oblivious to Percy and Annabeth's stares at each other.

Hermione huffed quietly as she turned the page, then slammed _The Daily Prophet_ down on the table. "No, nothing but a bunch of new rubbish about Harry and Dumbledore. It's quite awful; I don't think you want to see it." Before waiting for our reactions, she crumpled up the paper in her hands and set it on fire with her wand.

"Nervous, Hermione? What's the matter with you?" I whispered to her so no one could hear. She gave me a look that clearly said, _them._ Percy and Annabeth. I wasn't surprised. Hermione hadn't given up on squeezing the truth out of the two sixth-years, and with my having mentioned their physical skill in battle last night, she was even more on edge. She stared at the two sitting across the table from us completely indiscreetly.

It was a relief when the bell rang and we all headed off for classes, even though that class might be Potions, of all things. I'd honestly rather face Snape's cold taunts than Hermione's fury. On the way down to the dungeons, Ron started talking to me about Quidditch and strategies in the air, and I nodded every now and then, not really listening to his blabber. Thankfully, Hermione stayed silent and did not provoke a new argument with the redhead.

Potions was not too bad, since I was working with Hermione. Snape passed over our potion silently, meaning he couldn't find anything about it to critique. I knew that he'd've wanted some issue to put in a few nasty comments, but had his chance for Ron's and Neville's potion. It was a complete disaster, as the both of them somehow managed to make their potion completely destroy the cauldron they were working with and turn it into goo. To all of our surprises, Malfoy, who was working with Rachel on the Slytherin end of the room, didn't even comment on how bad Ron's potion was or how I'd only managed to get it right because I'd been working with Hermione.

Had Rachel changed the pure-blooded git that I had hated so much before?

No. Scratch that. I _still_ hated him, but it seemed as though being with Rachel for only a week had changed Malfoy for the better. He didn't make any snide comments or even laugh cruelly when Snape passed over Ron and Neville's potion, like he usually would've. It might've had something to do with the fact that Rachel was busy talking to him.

It also might've had something to do with his meeting with Percy and Annabeth last Friday. What exactly had they talked about?

All these questions were spinning my brain so horribly that I had a headache near my scar by the time we arrived in Umbridge's classroom. Both this and the fact that I could see the lines on the back of my hand while I wrote was enough to prevent me from getting another detention with Umbridge. Hermione, however, kept her hand raised the entire class period, not reading a word of the book I knew she'd already read entirely. Umbridge ignored the hand the entire class period, not wanting a repeat of last Monday. Instead, she asked "Ms. Granger" to stay after class to talk to her.

Divination passed quickly. Ron and I basically didn't have to do any dream interpretation because Trelawney was so busy talking to Rachel. Malfoy, I saw with a twinge of pleasure, had been forced to work with Pansy Parkinson on the dream journal and was not enjoying it one bit.

Hermione was furious when neither Percy nor Annabeth showed for lunch, and was even more enraged when she looked over at the Slytherin table and saw that Rachel and Malfoy were also missing. She sat down next to me and Ron, breathing heavily and trying to distract herself with Ancient Runes homework, but by the middle of lunch, she stood up, nearly overturning the entire Gryffindor table with her anger, and stormed out of the Great Hall. The entire hall's eyes were on her as she stomped outside in the direction of the Black Lake.

* * *

I knew I shouldn't let my anger blind me, but I was too far gone for the small, not-enraged part of my brain to process anything. I stormed out of the Great Hall, leaving a bewildered Harry and Ron behind me. I stomped over to the Black Lake, my strides so long and fast that my knees were starting to hurt, but the majority of my brain didn't process this fact.

I was done with staring at Percy and repeatedly asking Annabeth to tell me the truth; the two of them were inexplicably unbreakable. I couldn't crack them. I needed a new strategy.

Even if it meant confronting my worst enemy, Draco Malfoy. He _knew_ what Percy and Annabeth, and possibly even Rachel were. He _knew_ , and I would get the information out of him if I couldn't crack the two sixth-years.

But all these thoughts left me immediately when I saw four figures by the Black Lake, an enormous almost-transparent figure hanging in the middle of the air above them. The four figures were exactly who I was looking for: the curly blonde, the boy with jet-black hair, the girl with a bushy mane of curly red, and finally, the boy with slicked-back hair so blond it was almost white.

All of my anger drained out of me as I neared them, and I suddenly wished I was invisible. But I didn't have Harry's Invisibility Cloak, and I most certainly couldn't cast a Disillusionment charm on myself yet. So instead, I strode up to the four people sitting by the lake, their backs to me as they watched what I now saw was a sphere of water hover in midair.

I stared at the water-ball before it crashed back into the icy Black Lake. Right then, Annabeth heard my footsteps and turned around to see me. Her eyes widened, and soon, everyone else was turned around and staring at me as I walked up to them.

Surprisingly, Draco Malfoy was the first to speak. "What're you doing here, Granger? I don't recall you being invited." At least he didn't call me a Mudblood.

"For your information, Malfoy, I want to know what's going on here. Don't pretend it's nothing, because I _saw_ that sphere of water, and no one's wands are out. Explain." I turned from Malfoy to Percy and Annabeth, demanding an explanation, but before either of them could even open their mouths, something very strange occurred.

The red-haired girl who was currently staring at me, one eyebrow raised, suddenly doubled over like she'd been punched in the stomach. Everyone's attention fell off of me and turned to her.

Rachel sat up ramrod-straight, and I saw that her blue eyes had become an eerie glowing green. She opened her mouth, and a very green fog crept out of it and tumbled to the floor and coiled like a large snake. I shuddered, finally understanding why Rachel had been put in Slytherin.

Rachel then spoke, but her voice was not her own and was tripled.

" _Pale blond and raven black_

 _Can't ever choose to remain back_

 _They must stand and fight together_

 _Or be defeated by a magic feather."_

The serpent slithered back into her mouth, a sight so horrible that I never wanted to see it again, the green light faded, and Rachel slumped to the ground, completely unconscious.

I looked up, horrified, as Percy and Annabeth both grabbed the girl and pulled her back up. Rachel's eyes fluttered open, terrified. "Did I do it _again_?" she whimpered.

"Yes," said Percy gravely. "That's got to be the third part of it."

I finally found my tongue. "What just happened? Third part of _what_?"

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other, silently communicating again, and were about to say something when Malfoy interrupted. "Was _that_ a prophecy?"

"Yes," muttered Percy to the pale blond boy. I didn't even turn to see the look on Malfoy's face: I needed to know what was going on here.

"Well, Hermione. I think there's a lot we should explain to you."


	14. Chapter 14

**POVs: Harry, Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot._

* * *

Chapter 14

By the time lunch was over and Hermione had still not returned, Ron and I (well, mostly just the latter) started to worry about what had happened to her.

I suggested we go down to Transfiguration, thinking Hermione would already be there. But she didn't show until halfway through the class, her face a completely white mask of curiosity and horror. She'd either heard something from Percy and Annabeth or — most likely — seen something. But she wouldn't speak to either Ron or I, and didn't answer any questions McGonagall asked whatsoever, sparking lots of questions with other classmates about her out-of-character actions.

She wouldn't talk to us after the day of classes was over either, instead choosing to remain mute and focus on her hat-and-scarf-knitting. We left her for Quidditch practice at seven, and she only gave Percy a meaningful stare (at which he flinched a bit) and started whispering to Annabeth in a low voice. I doubted they were talking about Annabeth's strange computer.

Days upon days passed; Hermione eventually stopped looking around guiltily, although she still blanched significantly every day, noon or night that Rachel stopped by the Gryffindor table to speak with Percy and Annabeth; she'd hide her face behind the Daily Prophet and be too squeamish to touch her food, and every time Rachel came along Percy and Annabeth looked at Hermione worriedly like she'd say something horrible. But all she did was try to ignore the fact that the red-headed Slytherin was there.

The strangest thing, perhaps, was that Malfoy had completely stopped bothering us. He never stopped in the hall to say a snide comment, he didn't shout out anything rude over class, and he left Hermione completely alone, sometimes even giving her a friendly nod in the corridor between classes.

Ron and I were utterly confused, especially by Malfoy's actually _friendly_ behavior to the Gryffindor nerd he had hated and called nasty names for four years. The two of us asked her repeatedly about what had happened the day that she had marched furiously down to the Black Lake, but Ron gave up soon, and I did too when it was made exceptionally clear that Hermione was not saying anything.

It had been after another fruitless evening of interrogating Hermione that Ron quit. "Mate," he started as she angrily stomped her way up the staircase to the girls' dormitories, "Hermione is really good at snuffing out the information from other people. But we'll never get anything out of her unless she decides to tell us." He stopped for a moment, thinking. "Or if we somehow manage to bribe her with something she really loves. But I don't think there's any way to do that."

"Where there is a will, there _is_ a way," I muttered under my breath as he clomped up the stairs to the dorm. "And I _will_ find a _way_."

Only the crackling flames of the fire were there to hear me.

* * *

September slowly passed into October. The leaves changed from their summer-breeze green to the lively yellows and reds of autumn. The weather got chillier and chillier as Dolores Umbridge made herself into the Hogwarts High Inquisitor and inspected the teachers so she could sack them (but of course neither had anything to do with the other). Angelina had the entire Gryffindor team practicing twice a week, but Ron was barely improving as Keeper as his confidence deteriorated and our first match, against Slytherin, was in only a month.

I barely noticed anything.

My days were overwhelmed with thoughts about Percy and Annabeth and Hermione and training a group of students in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Dolores Umbridge wanting to sack Trelawney and Hagrid still missing and too much homework for O.W.L.s at the end of the year. I was having problems contacting Sirius now that all the mail in and out of the school was regulated and checked. I had carefully coded a letter to him, but he hadn't responded with much information. From what I could figure out, the Order was fine and still working.

And if that wasn't enough, my nights were haunted with nightmares about the long corridor and the door at the end of it. Every night I was getting closer and closer, and last night I'd even touched the doorknob, but that was it. It was frustrating me.

Percy and Annabeth didn't talk to me or Ron as much as they had at the beginning of the year, only having long, eloquent (and whispered) conversations with Hermione. Hermione still talked to us a lot; just not about anything suspicious.

I found myself frequently falling asleep in the common room halfway through my homework, exhausted and overwhelmed by everything happening at Hogwarts this October. Thankfully, I'd managed to prevent myself from getting into any more detentions with Umbridge, though I still hated her with all my heart whenever I saw the scars standing out on the back of my hand.

I woke up, sitting up way too quickly, when I heard a resounding crash. My textbooks, half-finished Herbology paper, and ink bottle toppled to the floor as I leaned forward and turned around to see what had made the sound. There was Hermione, her bushy hair a lion's mane around her head, amber eyes glowing with some emotion I recognized as guilt. I looked to the window, where light was filtering in — it was morning already.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Harry, I didn't realize you were sleeping down here. Did you fall asleep with your homework?" she asked.

"Yes," I grumbled sleepily, upset that she'd woken me up just as I was getting to open the door in my dreams. "'sno problem." I turned around, muttered " _scourgify"_ as I pointed my wand to my soaked Herbology paper, and shouted in frustration when the spell cleared off a little _too_ much ink, taking away three sentences of what I had written. Hermione rushed over, seeing what happened, and muttered a charm to make my lost sentences reappear.

"Thanks, 'Mione."

She smiled. "No problem, Harry. But it's Friday. I wouldn't worry too much."

At this, I sat up suddenly, remembering the notice that had been posted in the common room last weekend. "Right! It's the first Hogsmeade outing tomorrow!"

"Yes. And you told me last week that I could go ahead and start collecting people for our training group. So I've got a list of people here," (she rummaged through her bag) "that all want to meet us."

My heart fell. "But where'll we be meeting?" I asked her.

"Oh, that's simple. We'll go to the Hog's Head. I already told them all to meet us there. Do you want to see the list, Harry?"

I was staring off into space and had to ask her to repeat the question. "Er, sure?" She handed over the paper, which was filled with names in Hermione's elegant, curvy handwriting. I scanned over the page, delighted to see that Cho Chang, Fred, and George had all signed up, but scowled when I saw Ernie MacMillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley's names on the parchment.

"What do they want?" I asked Hermione rather furiously. "They've been against me and with the _Prophet_ all year!"

"Yes, Harry, but they heard that Percy might be teaching some physical combat and wanted to see what they could learn." Her answer was timid, as if expecting me to shout out in fury.

"Oh, I see," I answered, trying to remain calm. I kept looking down the list and let out a surprised breath when I saw two names near the bottom. "Rachel and Malfoy?"

Hermione blanched a bit at the mention of Rachel. "Well, Harry, Rachel wanted to join because Percy and Annabeth are coming, and _Draco_ wanted to go with her." I noted her use of Malfoy's first name and was immediately angry.

"What is it with you and Malfoy, Hermione? You haven't been rude to each other in weeks! In fact, you've been _friendly_ in the corridors! What's with that?"

She huffed, holding her head high and crossing her arms over her chest. "You know what, Harry? I think it's time to let some prejudices go!"

Before she could stomp away, though, I retorted, "But you've _loathed_ Malfoy since first, maybe second year! He called you a-a —" I didn't finish my sentence. Hermione's eyes were pricked with tears, and she ran away from me, out the common room door, holding her books closely.

 _What's the matter with her? I can't believe this!_ I thought, but my thoughts were interrupted as Annabeth bounded down the steps from her room, Merlin perched like a sentry on her head yet again. There was something strange in the way Annabeth attracted owls. The last time she'd wanted to send a letter home, she asked me to go to the Owlery for her, saying that Merlin was out and that the owls swarmed her whenever she went up there.

"Hey, Harry. Seen Hermione? She's not in the dormitory," Annabeth said, walking over to the ratty couch where I was situated.

"Yeah, she just left," I mumbled through gritted teeth, watching as the blond girl left the room with the owl still messing up her curls. Soon after the portrait door closed, though, I found I couldn't focus anymore on my Herbology essay. I packed up all of my textbooks and left the common room and the dead, cold fireplace for breakfast.

* * *

We had made Hermione swear on the River Styx that she wouldn't tell anyone before consulting us, and she had agreed after learning our story. She still paled whenever Rachel came near her, no doubt still reliving the time that Rachel had spouted out the third part of the prophecy.

I'd owled home, all the way over the ocean and back to Manhattan, to get my mother to sign a permission form for Annabeth, Rachel and I to all go to Hogsmeade tomorrow. And I was excited. It was the second week of October, and though it hadn't snowed yet, I heard that Scotland received a lot of snow in the winter, starting at the end of October. I was looking forward to it — not that Manhattan didn't receive snow.

I went down to breakfast with Ron, since Harry wasn't in the dormitory (I doubted he'd even come up to bed last night, he'd been falling asleep in the common room the past couple of days) and Hermione and Annabeth were always down there early.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth exclaimed when we got down to the Great Hall. I sat down next to her and Hermione and shooed off Merlin before kissing her head and winding an arm around her shoulder. I felt oddly happy this Friday morning; there were high chances of light snow tomorrow, it was getting chillier (I love summer, don't get me wrong, but fall's great), and most importantly, I hadn't had any nightmares about Draco or the prophecies last night. It was one of the first nights since I'd arrived at Hogwarts that I'd gotten a good night's sleep.

"Look. Hermione got a ton of people to sign up and meet us at the Hog's Head tomorrow to talk about training in Defense."

"What in heck is the Hog's Head?" I asked her, thinking about the ugly, bloody pig head stuck on the front of the Ares cabin at Camp Half-Blood and shuddering.

She rolled her eyes. "It's a bar, silly. In Hogsmeade."

"Hmm. I wonder what it is with these wizards and their fascination with hogs. Hogwarts–come on, who names a school after a _warthog_ or a _hog with warts_?–Hogsmeade, the Hog's Head. What else is there?" I speculated.

Just then, Rachel dropped down on my left side, causing Hermione to cover her face with the _Daily Prophet_ and avoid her food.

"What's up, sixies?" she asked, grabbing a piece of waffle off of my plate and popping it in her mouth.

"First it was the Hog's Head, now it's sixies?" I asked, running a hand through my longer hair in exasperation. "What the heck is a sixie anyway?"

"A sixth-year. Duh," she answered, rolling her eyes like Annabeth. "I heard Peeves bouncing off the walls on the third-floor corridor yesterday, dumping permanent ink bottles on the first-years' heads and calling them firsties." She rolled her eyes again. "They should learn to intimidate him with the Bloody Baron."

"Whatever. What do we have today, Wise Girl?" I asked, turning to Annabeth.

"Really, Percy, you should memorize our schedule. It's basically the same every week," she retorted playfully. "We have Transfiguration first and double Defense after that. And I have Ancient Runes. But that's it."

"My Friday's gotten a whole lot better," I said, smiling when she kissed me.

"You two only have two classes — well, three — every day?" Ron spluttered, the fork with his chocolate waffle halfway to his mouth forgotten.

"Yes, but we have so much homework and studying to do that we don't really have time to do anything else _but_ homework during the free periods," Annabeth told him.

"So do we! We have mountains of homework every night, it's like studying for final exams every day!" said Ron in disbelief, shaking his head.

"Yes, Ronald, but we're only at O.W.L. level. Percy and Annabeth are taking N.E.W.T.-levels, which are _much_ harder than O.W.L.s and take extensive amounts of work!" said Hermione reproachfully, putting her paper down for the first time since Rachel had sat down. "Well, there's bad news in the _Prophet_. You know Sturgis Podmore? He was part of… well, the Order," she whispered. "He's been arrested for trying to get into the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry. Sent to Azkaban after a short trial with the Wizengamot; he confessed everything easily. I can't believe it!"

"Yeah, me either!" exclaimed Harry in surprise, yanking the newspaper from Hermione's hands and scanning it quickly. "You reckon it has something to do with the… the _weapon?"_ He was whispering now too.

"What, the Order's weapon?" I asked without being too loud.

"Yes. I don't know, Harry. I just don't believe he'd do that and confess to it too. He must have been Imperiused." Hermione's face was deep in thought, totally ignorant of the fact Rachel was still seated at the Gryffindor table.

Just then, the bell signaling the end of breakfast broke into our reveries. I stood up along with Annabeth. "Let's go. I want to get this day over with as quickly as possible," I told her as we walked out of the Great Hall, heading for Transfiguration.

"Ugh. Umbridge will just be plain awful today. We've got her for two hours!" Annabeth scowled at the head in front of her. "And she'll probably be inspecting McGonagall's class today."

"Eh, McGonagall will probably just ignore her. ' _Hem, hem!'_ Ha! She'll just have to deal with it. And we can get through it. You have Runes later, I have Quidditch, and we have Hogsmeade tomorrow!" I laughed at her, watching the smile that was tugging on the edges of her lips.

"Look on the bright side, Wise Girl! A couple more chapters of _Defensive Magical Theory_ won't ruin our day." She started smiling for real, then reached over and hugged me.

"Fine, Seaweed Brain. I can deal with today. I love you, you know?"

"I know. And I love you too. And if we can defeat Kronos, we can get through today." I smiled at her; she smiled at me.

We held hands all the way to class.

* * *

 **A/N: Reviews always accepted. :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**POVs: Percy, Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own any wonderful books that pertain to this fic. There are parts in this chapter that are copied from_ _The Order of the Phoenix_ _, which I also do not own._

* * *

Chapter 15

 _Slytherin…. Ssslytherin….. Slytherin…. Gryffindor…. Ravenclaw… Hufflepuff…_

 _Ssslytherin…._

My head snapped up so fast that I was afraid I might get whiplash, and I looked around in all directions before realizing that no, Rachel was not in the room, and there was no slithering serpent on the floor.

I let my head fall back on the pillow, touching my neck to find my pulse and finding that it was drenched in cold sweat. And my heart was beating _way_ too fast to be normal.

Oh, damn it. My dreams were back again.

No, scratch that. My _nightmares_ were back again.

I closed my eyes to try and forget the horrible things I had just seen, but the image of the long, coiling green snake just popped back into my head as soon as all I saw was darkness.

So instead of trying to forget the nightmare, I tried my other method of getting rid of dreams. I thought deeply about what it could mean and got out of bed quietly to see if Annabeth was downstairs.

She was — typing away on her laptop, no Merlin on her shoulder but Poseidon in her lap. As soon as I was in her sight, she turned her head to look at me and rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Seaweed Brain, why's your shirt hanging over your shoulder?"

I looked over — my t-shirt was, indeed, on my shoulder instead of my body. I frowned. I had put my shirt on before bed, I was sure of it.

Shrugging, I grabbed the t-shirt and pulled it over my head in one swift movement before sitting down next to Annabeth.

"So why are you up so early, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked me as I sat down, her attention returning to the computer screen as Poseidon jumped off her lap and into mine. "Another nightmare?"

"Yep," I sighed.

"What was it this time?" she asked, tearing her eyes off the screen to look at me with concern.

"Nothing much. Basically a snake — a _huge_ snake, like twenty feet long — that was slithering ever-closer to me, whispering the house names. It said Slytherin more than the others." Annabeth raised her eyebrow. "I woke up right as it lunged for my throat."

"Wait, how long was the snake?" she said, sitting up and closing Daedalus' laptop.

"Uh, _really_ long. And ridiculously thick, too." I showed her the snake's diameter with my hands.

"And you said it lunged for your throat, like it was going to bite you?"

"Yes," I shrugged, wondering what she was on to. "I saw its fangs."

She sighed in confusion. "Percy, given the size you described to me, the snake should be a non-venomous snake. A constrictor." She continued, slightly smug, when I raised my eyebrows in question.

"A constrictor is a snake that wraps itself around its prey and squeezes it to death. Like a python, or an anaconda. But they are nonvenomous. They don't have fangs, and they don't strike like venomous snakes do, like a rattlesnake. So I'm really confused as to _what_ type of snake you saw in your dream." She ended her dictionary rant and looked up at me, waiting.

"Well," I started, thinking of all the pythons I'd ever seen, with their colorful patterns (and shuddering when Rachel's snake came to mind), "the snake was definitely a constrictor. It had the patterns on its back to be a python. But if what you say is true — and it normally is," I added when Annabeth glared at me, "the snake isn't a species that exists. Or at least to the extent of our knowledge."

I remembered the details of the nightmare; the python was very large, very long, and most _definitely_ had fangs and had lunged for me like a venomous serpent. But it had been partly shrouded in fog; the tip of the tail and the neck was obscured by swirling patterns of purple mist, and then a set of eyes had peered out from within that dark fog, and a slithering, cold serpentine voice had hissed as the snake moved ever-closer, whispering the names of the houses…

"Percy? Helloooo?" Annabeth's voice brought me back to reality; I realized I had closed my eyes and was currently in a trance-like state. "Percy?" I blinked and opened my eyes, confused when I saw a fuzzy image. "Oh, gods, I thought you fainted!"

The image became clearer; Annabeth was staring down at me, her storm-cloud eyes full of worry, and next to her golden-hair-framed face was a large bush of brown hair. I could see two amber eyes staring down at me from under the mane of dark hair.

"AHHHH!" I screamed, jumping up and landing on my feet, reaching instinctively for Riptide…

"PERCY! Calm down, it's just Hermione!" At Annabeth's words I turned around and blushed in embarrassment, storing the pen back in my pocket.

"Oh… right, sorry, Hermione," I said self-consciously. Annabeth looked at me, begging me to tell her more about my dream (nightmare), but I gave her a microscopic shake of my head before saying to the both of them, "Who's ready for Hogsmeade?"

The day outside was bright and sunny but windy, and as we trudged our way down to the village after passing Filch's inspections and accusatory glares, gales of wind blew in our faces, freezing our noses and whipping our hair out behind us.

It was amazing.

Hermione and Ron set off immediately for the Hog's Head, arguing heatedly about something or the other, but Annabeth, Harry and I stopped by a wizarding shop called Zonko's Joke Shop.

The place was filled with racks and shelves upon racks and shelves of the most bizarre magical items — some of them popping out as we passed them, others waiting until we picked them up to spontaneously combust and reform in our hands.

I bought two Sugar Quills for Annabeth and I, while Harry took a bar of frog-spawn soap (why, I had no idea whatsoever) and three bags of Hiccough Sweets.

Next was the one I dubbed my personal favorite: Honeydukes. It was overflowing with the strangest candies I'd seen, some of them like the ones from the trolley on the Hogwarts Express, others entirely different. Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Droobles' Best Blowing Gum, Ice Mice, several different flavors of nougat, squares of coconut candies, Licorice Wands, Pepper Imps (I tried one and almost puked, my mouth was so hot), thousands of chocolates, toffees… to say that Annabeth had to drag me away from the 'special effects candies' wall would be a gross understatement.

Finally, we made our way out of Honeydukes (me dragging two full bags of candy behind me) and made our way to the Hog's Head, a shabby-looking old building on the outskirts of the village. The wind had picked up and chilling gusts were blowing all around us. I looked at the sign above the door to the bar; the pig's head on the wood reminded me of the warthog pinned to the front of the Ares cabin once again. The building was basically falling apart, the wood holding it up very worn out and starting to get mold on the The inside of the Hog's Head wasn't much better than the outside — it was dusty, old, and kind of falling apart. Ron and Hermione were in there, as were Fred and George Weasley and their friend Lee Jordan.

"We're expecting quite a few more people, they should be here any moment… Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. We all rushed over to sit with them, after Harry ordered us three butterbeers from the tall, silver-bearded bartender. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite figure out why.

We sat down and I sipped at my butterbeer, delighted to find it was buttery and sweet, and slightly honey-like.

Just then, the door to the Hog's Head opened again, and a large group of people entered all together, a gust of wind blowing cold air in after them.

* * *

There were so many people I couldn't count them, but, thanks to Hermione's list, I knew to expect all of them. First came Neville with Dean and Lavender, who were closely followed by Parvati and Padma Patil with Cho (my stomach did a backflip) and one of her usually giggling girlfriends, then (on her own and looking so dreamy that she might have walked in by accident) Luna Lovegood; then Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, and a Hufflepuff girl with a long plait down her back whose name I did not know; three Ravenclaw boys I was pretty sure were called Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, and Terry Boot; and Ginny, followed by a tall skinny blond boy with an upturned nose whom I recognized vaguely as being a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

The last two people to enter the bar possessed a mane of curly red frizz and sleek, slicked-back pale blond hair. I avoided their eyes.

Everyone swarmed the bar to order a drink (most of them butterbeers, being underage and under the watch of prefects), and only then turned around and saw us; they all sat down atop wooden chairs that they had pulled from other tables around the bar, the chairs scraping the floors with a horribly screeching sound.

I finally took in the incredibly large amount of people in the room, many of which I was not on familiar terms with, and some of which I was almost positive were against Dumbledore and me and with the _Prophet._

It took me only three seconds to figure out that most of the people now sitting down in a huddled circle around Hermione, Ron, Percy, Annabeth, and I were not vaguely interested in learning _real_ magic instead of the trash the pink-clad Ministry woman taught us. No, most of them had come for a very different reason.

They wanted an eyewitness account of what happened the night Cedric Diggory died. The night that Voldemort was resurrected from the not-quite-dead.

I glanced quickly at Hermione, giving her my best angry stare just as she opened her mouth to speak to the large group in front of us. She noticed, closed her mouth quickly and gulped, raising an eyebrow in confusion while her eyes searched mine, terrified. It was quite the comical expression, the terror combined with the bewilderment.

I opened my mouth to speak, suddenly very angry at Hermione, at all the people who came here because they wanted explicit details on how my unfortunate Hufflepuff Triwizard Champion friend had been murdered in cold blood. The anger rolled off of me in tangible waves, and I could see that everyone else felt the waves too, because their chatter immediately subsided, and Cho's curly-red-haired friend stopped glaring at me with her mistrustful look. Draco Malfoy looked me straight in the eyes with his silver eyes, not even a trace of smugness or a sneer on his facial features. Everyone turned to look at me as I opened my mouth, and Hermione didn't dare interrupt my flow of words as they spilled out.

But when I spoke, the anger I was feeling was betrayed by neither my face nor my voice. My voice was seething calm and quiet, and I was sure my expression seemed the same. "So, I know that all of you are here to hear what I have to say about teaching magical defense. You all know as well as I do that that Ministry hag is a horrible teacher, and that if we ever want to be able to defend ourselves, we need more real practice."

No one spoke. They'd noticed the anger starting to seep into my voice and were probably waiting for me to snap. It probably wouldn't be long until then; I had a temper all right, and I could feel the anger blazing deep within me. I looked back at Malfoy and immediately wished I hadn't; he was staring at me, one eyebrow raised expectantly, as if he could physically _feel_ the snap coming.

Suddenly, I found myself wanting to keep in the anger. I would not give Malfoy what he expected so he could gloat about it later.

So I took a deep breath, testing my self-control, and reigned in the anger before saying, "If any of you came here because you wanted details on Cedric's death, I'm giving you a warning and telling you to leave right now. Because I am not telling you anything except that Cedric was cold-bloodedly murdered by Voldemort's servant, Peter Pettigrew, under Voldemort's command, right before he was resurrected. If that's what you wanted me to tell you, you can leave now."

Everyone recoiled when I said the name: Cho's friend let out a little squeak, and several of the boys slopped butterbeer all over their robes. The only ones who seemed unperturbed were Percy, Annabeth, Hermione (though she recoiled slightly too), Rachel, Ginny, and (for some reason) Luna Lovegood.

And there was one last person who seemingly didn't react whatsoever to the name, only blinking twice rapidly when he heard it: Malfoy.

Once they were over the initial shock, not one person made a move to leave, not even Malfoy. He was staring at me with a _knowing_ expression, a smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

I started, realizing I'd never Malfoy smile before, not a real smile full of actual happiness. The only smile I'd seen on his face was cruel, menacing, and smug.

I took my eyes off of Malfoy's silver ones and turned back to my now-expectant audience to address them once again.

"Well, now that I got that out, I'd like to talk about what we're _really_ here for. Two of my friends here, Percy Jackson and Hermione Granger, suggested that we take matters into our own hands concerning Defense. Umbridge really isn't teaching us anything with _Defensive Magical Theory_."

"Hear, hear," said Anthony Goldstein from the back.

Hermione took over, speaking shortly. "And by that, we mean that we should learn how to actually defend ourselves on the battlefield, properly, with the real spells, because the ton of rubbish that woman is giving us is not going to help when we're fighting Death Eaters. As Harry's told you all, Lord Voldemort has returned —" everyone sucked in a breath "— and now we need Defense more than ever. Not just to pass our O.W.L.s."

"Alright, where's the proof that _he_ 's even _back_? Besides the fact that Harry saw it," said the blond Hufflepuff boy (who I now recognized as Zacharias Smith) rudely.

"Dumbledore —" Hermione started.

"Dumbledore believes _him_ ," Smith continued cruelly, pointing a long finger at me. The anger that I'd managed to push down before came bubbling back up to the surface quickly and heatedly.

"Look, Smith," I sneered, stepping in front of Hermione. "I don't care if you believe that Voldemort is back or not. I already said before that anyone who doesn't believe me can leave. And you seem quite opposed to the idea that _he's_ back. So if you would, please leave. I'm not going to tolerate your ignorance and rudeness any more!" I yelled at him.

He stared me back, straight in the eyes, with defiance, but didn't make a single move to leave the Hog's Head.

"If anyone else feels the same, they should leave too, because we're here to learn magic, not to find the proof that Voldemort is back. I can and will tell you time and time again the truth, but if you don't want to believe me, get out." My voice had suddenly gone from shouting to a cold calm that unsettled even me.

Draco was looking again at me with one eyebrow cocked expectantly, and I wondered what his issue was.

Suddenly, I was sitting in a chair, and Percy was up and speaking. "Alright, now that we haven't gotten anyone to leave, I'd like to explain what part of this brilliant idea I came up with." He gestured to himself.

"You see, I understand it that we magical people are in desperate need of our wands every second of the day. If we don't have them, we can't do magic, and if we can't do magic, we can't protect ourselves." I noticed the way he said _we_ very carefully, as though he wanted to seem part of it but really wasn't.

"Anyway, Annabeth and I have had plenty of experience in the battlefield. For those of you who don't know already, we're exchange students from America. In the U.S., we learned physical as well as magical combat. We'd be able to teach you physical defense so you aren't let down if you don't have a wand with you." Percy sat down rather abruptly at the end of the speech, leaving many wide-eyed and bewildered.

As Hermione stood up to speak again and got out a piece of parchment to have people sign if they were in on the defense club, I started wondering again — wondering, what exactly it could be that Percy and Annabeth were hiding. They weren't wizards, I knew that. But they weren't mortal. And that centaur teacher they had back at their Camp was nothing like the centaurs I'd met in the Forbidden Forest.

Yes, I concluded as the group in front of me started on the topic of where we'd hold defense practices, Percy and Annabeth were very strange indeed.

* * *

 **A/N: Happy Thanksgiving!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** **A comment for you wonderful reviewers: I very much like your reviews, especially when you give me a suggestion, but remember that not all suggestions go into the story. An idea from a reviewer only goes in if I really like it and it works with what I already have.**

 **POVs: Percy, Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I own only the plot… kind of. Half of it was made by J.K. Rowling._

* * *

Chapter 16

" _Just hold on a second, Jackson. We don't exactly know where we're holding these meetings, and we don't know for sure we're even having these meetings. And, frankly, I'd like to know why you think you're so qualified to teach us in combat when you're new at Hogwarts."_

I lay in my four-poster bed, rewatching the scene from earlier today in the Hog's Head in my mind. Stupid Zacharias Smith had insulted me, and I'd almost beat him to a complete pulp. Annabeth had unleashed her full fury on me later that afternoon.

" _Well,_ Zacharias _, I might not have gone to this school for five years before now. That doesn't mean that I know nothing." I was struggling to keep my calm. This kid was 1) way too rude, 2) completely uneducated in manners, and 3) stepping over the line._

" _Hmm. Well, if you're so good at magic, why don't you tell us about it?" Smith's eyes wandered over mine and Annabeth's cruelly._

 _Fine. He wanted to do it that way? So be it._

 _I grinned at him, feeling a familiar tug in my gut and trying to push it down so that all the butterbeers in the bar wouldn't suddenly explode without an explanation. "Here's a better idea, Smith. How about I_ show _you?"_

 _He went right along with the idea, instantly drawing his wand and pushing his long blond bangs out of his face. Everyone else had unconsciously or instinctively moved to clear a path between the two of us — everyone except for Annabeth, who marched over and stood in front of me, staring up with a slight frown in her mouth, her eyes blazing with anger. She was the incarnation of defiance._

" _Percy, get out of the way. You're going to put us in danger," she ordered in a whisper only I could hear, silently pleading with me._

" _Annabeth, this kid won't quit until he gets it. Don't worry, I won't show any of my 'special' powers." And before waiting for her reaction, I pushed her behind of me and started dueling Zacharias Smith._

 _After only a half a minute that seemed like half an hour, Smith's wand clattered to the floor from my Expelliarmus charm._

" _Fine, you win," he said, disgusted, as he bent over to pick up his wand once again._

 _I didn't let him get that far. I summoned his wand, gave both of the sticks in my hand to Annabeth, and said, "Wait, Smith. I'm not even teaching magic in our little 'club'. I'll be teaching physical defense."_

 _Zacharias immediately raised his fists. "You want to go?" he shouted at me; I was glad the bar was close to empty._

 _I didn't respond, because just then the boy aimed a kick at my chest. It should've caught me and thrown me to the floor, but thanks to my half-godliness and quick reactions, I side-stepped the kick. I was surprised; he was better at physical combat than I thought he would be with his thinness._

 _But he wasn't as good as me; not even close. And that was not boasting. Smith might've taken some classes at some point, but I'd been training on a battlefield for five years._

 _I would've beat him to a pulp had we not been in public. But, as it was, we were in a bar with twenty-some other students who could've reported us if there was serious damage done, and there was also the bartender, who looked about as confused as the rest of them._

 _So I let him off easily; I tired him out and gave him one very soft punch in the arm, at which he fell over and stared at me murderously. "Fine, Jackson, I admit it. You are pretty darn good at both duels. I look forward to being trained by you."_

 _Yeah; trained by me so he could beat me. I snorted internally. And with that, Smith got up, brushed off his clothes, grabbed his wand back from Annabeth, and then walked out of the Hog's Head, not looking back._

 _Everyone else looked back at me once the door closed. I was the center of attention, yet no one seemed to want to report me to the teachers or yell at me for basically getting rid of him. They all were on my side; Smith was the one who had provoked me. Even so, Hermione gathered everyone around before we all left and told them all that we couldn't tell the Hogwarts staff about this because they could ask why twenty of us had all met in the Hog's Head, which would lead to suspicion and even more questions._

Slowly, the replay of the events of today became a dream as I entered the realm of sleep.

 _Annabeth and I were walking outside, through the streets of Hogsmeade, bundled and hugging together against the fierce wind that blew in our faces…_

 _I turned to look down at her; she was radiating beauty and health, happiness — she really did love it here at Hogwarts, in Scotland, further than we'd ever traveled on a quest. She looked up at me, adoration in her silver eyes, and I leaned down to kiss her._

 _I was enveloped in the warmth of her lips before Annabeth was torn away from me by the brutal wind, which was growing stronger and stronger, and then white flew down from the clouds, pushed in my face by the wind…_

 _I called Annabeth's name through the blizzard, and I could hear her calling my name faintly, far away…_

 _And suddenly the snow stopped, the wind stopped, and the light was all sucked up in darkness. I was in a dark hall that I didn't recognize, and at the end of this hall was a door._

 _I found myself desperate to get past this door, to find what was behind it — it was as if something was pulling me towards it with a magnetic force — maybe Annabeth was behind the door. I walked to it, hand outstretched_

 _I very abruptly realized that I wasn't alone. I turned to the side, only to find a mirror, reflecting me back._

 _As I watched the mirror, entranced, it shrunk to a smaller size. My reflection dug around in my jean pocket, the one holding Riptide, but pulled out something very_ not _-a-pen. The hand — my hand — pulled from Anaklusmos' pocket a pair of round black glasses and put them on his face. His eyes changed ever so slightly — the blue receded, leaving just emerald green irises._

 _His bangs grew out, more prominent than mine. His nose became slightly more crooked and longer. My reflection thinned out, much of the muscle disappearing._

 _Finally, there was a flash of green light, and a lightning-shaped scar cut its way into the boy's forehead. He screamed in pain. The light receded, and my reflection was no longer me. Standing there was Harry Potter._

 _He looked at me, then back at the door that lay in front of us, all the way at the end of the long hall. Back at me, then the door. And before I could figure out what he was doing, Harry Potter lunged for the door._

 _I yelled, frustrated, and leaped after him, running alongside him. Suddenly, Harry was gone from my side — he'd lunged in front one last time, and his body elongated to form the shape of a snake's._

 _I screamed in terror when I saw Harry's body replaced by the snake — the very same snake that had talked to me from within the fog. Venomous yet python-like._

 _The snake turned around in one swift movement, the door disappearing from in front of me, and lunged for my neck. And the scariest part was that this snake's eyes weren't the same as the other snake's._

 _They weren't crimson._

 _They were emerald green._

* * *

I woke up, shaking from the dream I'd just had, and reached for my glasses before throwing the covers off of me and opening the curtains around my bed. I needed to walk — there was no way I'd be okay by just laying here in bed after that nightmare.

It seemed someone else had the same idea.

Percy was striding around the room, a completely crazed look in his eyes, biting at his own fingers as he stared at a lower fixed spot. I leaned away from him, instantly scared by the horrifying madness in his eyes.

I looked straight at him and whispered, "Percy?"

The reaction I got was exactly the one I'd expected, which surprised me. Only a person who'd seen my nightmare would react the way Percy Jackson did when I said his name.

He looked up, a crazed, terrified look in his eyes, and upon seeing me, jumped backward so forcefully he almost knocked himself out on his own bedpost.

He looked at me as if expecting me to turn into a wild animal. I was half-expecting the same dream, after having transformed into a snake in my nightmare and lunging at a nameless face in the hall with the door. I closed my eyes briefly as I remembered the nightmare.

 _I'd been so close to opening the door fully — the only thing that had thwarted me was that I had felt another presence in the hallway behind me. So I'd turned, snarling viciously. He was wearing jeans and a recognizable t-shirt, and there had been a bulge in his front pocket…_

 _I felt my body fall to the floor and hit it with a cold, heavy thud that a human body shouldn't make… I'd lunged at the person I didn't know, falling to the floor once again, but this time in front of a mirror._

 _And I'd seen my green eyes in the body of an enormous snake._

I shuddered, trying to dispel the thought from my mind.

As soon as I'd woken up, I was sure that everyone would freak out in front of me at seeing that I was a venomous serpent, and then forgotten the thought because no one else had been in my dream, besides the faceless person I couldn't name.

But Percy Jackson had reacted exactly the way they should after seeing a person who they'd seen transform into the snake.

Which could really mean only one thing.

"Percy," I said again, my voice distressed instead of terrified this time. "Percy," I repeated hoarsely, "we need to talk."

* * *

 **A/N: Cliffies are so fun...**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: T** **his chapter gets completely non-canon. (Well, not completely, an idea of J.K.'s basically just goes from Harry's head to his body.)**

 **POVs: Percy, Harry**

 _Disclaimer: Excepting that one part mentioned above where Harry's thoughts are real or something like that, I own nothing._

* * *

Chapter 17

I stared at Harry, slightly horrified because of both what I had seen in my dream and how he was acting now. He looked straight into my eyes, his green ones haunted and yet understanding.

This stopped my pacing for a second. Now why would he look _understanding?_

But I looked again at his green eyes (not thinking of the snake that was him), and I saw that that was the plain expression there. Annabeth had taught me some of her "how to read other people's emotions through their eyes" thing as a daughter of Athena, but I wouldn't have needed her help to see Harry's emotions right now.

So again, I thought, _why would he look understanding?_

I stopped thinking for a moment. This train of thought was only going in circles. If I wanted it to get anywhere, I'd actually have to ask him. So, without even thinking about what I was about to say, I asked him, "Why in the world do you look like you _understand_ why I'm pacing around the room and staring at this like you, Harry?" I closed my mouth immediately, wondering what the other boy would think of my sudden, inexplicable outburst.

He cocked his head in utter confusion, the understanding, haunted look now gone, and frowned. "What?"

I decided to explain instead of refrain from telling him. "Well, I looked at your eyes… and you looked understanding. And I'm very much confused." I tried not to look into his eyes again, knowing that doing so now would only recall the memories of the serpent in my dream, the snake that _was_ Harry. Then, having remembered the horrifying memory, I shuddered.

I looked back up at him. There it was again. The expression that was like, _I get it, man._ Like he'd actually _been_ in my nightmare. I snorted at the idea, then was immediately sober.

He _had_ been in my nightmare, first in the mirror, then running, then as the — nevermind that now. But he had been in it, so why couldn't he have dreamed the same thing and saw _me_?

Oh, gods, would that be weird. Having demigod dreams about Draco Malfoy and an evil serpent that couldn't scientifically exist were one thing. Co-dreaming with a famous wizard boy named Harry Potter was completely different.

"I guess you are right, Harry. We _do_ need to talk." At this remark, the other boy's face became impossibly pale, like someone had leached the blood right out of him. He then opened his mouth to speak, still ghostly pale, but I stopped him before he got the chance. "No, not here. Let's go down to the lake," I suggested, considering the time — it was only six-thirty, but I dismissed it without a second glance — and that, judging from the misty purplish clouds that hung low around the castle I saw from the window, it was a foggy Sunday morning. Not many people would be outside.

By the time we were out on the grounds, the sun was just barely full over the horizon, but hidden by the vast amounts of fog that seeped everywhere.

I finally broke the silence. "I had a nightmare, Harry. And you were in it."

I expected him to be shocked, but he didn't look the least bit surprised. Instead, he looked up at me, worry etching lines between his eyebrows. I continued.

"I was in a hallway. It was really dark and long, and there was a door at the end of it." I didn't look back at his face for the moment, fearing that whatever I saw would prevent me from going on. "I started walking to it, and then… I turned to the side and saw a mirror. But my reflection — it changed. It changed into _you_. And then you were running towards the door, and I ran alongside you, and suddenly... you…" I couldn't continue. But before I could see Harry's reaction, he spoke.

"I turned into a python, didn't I?" He stared down at his feet, moving slowly across the frozen grass. Suddenly he looked back up to me, inexplicable tears forming in his eyes. "I turned into that godawful serpent, and then I lunged for your neck."

I stared at him in terror, finally understanding why he had looked at me the way he had in the dorms earlier. He _understood._ He understood because he'd been there, in my dream.

Or had I been in his?

"And the worst part is," he continued, rage barely contained in his voice, "that my own mind was in complete control of the snake. I _was_ the snake—I wasn't _replaced_ by it. And you could tell, couldn't you?" I didn't answer, my brain frozen like the dirt beneath my feet. "I had _my_ eyes." He didn't have to explain. I knew exactly what he meant.

An eerie silence followed, the only sounds heard being the soft chilly wind blown in our faces and the trudging of our feet over the frost-covered ground. Harry was the one to break the silence a couple minutes later, as we neared the Forbidden Forest.

"But there was something different in my dream. I didn't know it was you there. I just saw a blank face and a body but I couldn't distinguish who it was."

That was a surprise. I turned to look at him. He was looking at his feet again.

"Harry, I know you've been after what we told Hermione. And I'm going to tell you it right now. But you can't tell _anyone._ And by that, I mean you cannot even tell Dumbledore." _Although he probably already knows,_ I added in my head.

"Annabeth and I aren't really wizards. We're demigods."

Harry didn't even react to my words. He was staring ahead into the dark forest, completely alert. "Shhhhh… there's something moving out there." I stared with him, trying to see something through squinted eyes. And then, a shadow appeared in the midst of the fog, nearing us all the while. By the way it walked, it was no animal. It wasn't a human either.

Only now did I realize my stupidity in coming so close to the border of the Hogwarts grounds. The only reason Annabeth and I hadn't been tracked down this whole time was because of the wards surrounding the grounds. And now, I'd come dangerously close to overstepping those wards.

So, of course, there was a monster waiting nearby to attack. And due to my horribly rotten luck, of course that monster had to be —

A manticore. Accompanied by what had to be the strangest monster I'd seen yet.

The manticore's spiked tail was raised well above its head, poised to strike like a scorpion. Its front claws were digging into the ground with eyes, violet-red eyes glowing malevolently. But it didn't move. It looked like it was waiting for a signal from its buddy.

Instead of charging right out at the monster first, I stepped slowly away. "Harry? Are the wards still on?"

"Yes," he whispered back, his voice unsteady. "They should be, at least. But I've never seen those before… I don't know if the wards will hold them back. At least not the one with the snake head."

I looked at the strange monster, the one I'd never seen before, and considered it. It had the long, lithe body of a black snake, and a head like one too, but that was where the similarities ended. This creature had glowing orange eyes with dilated, full pupils, red feathers adorning its head, and two black wings bigger than the manticore's poking out of its back. Its ribs and spine were clearly visible through the nearly transparent black skin. I was very suddenly reminded of a thestral and resisted the urge to throw up.

"Do you know what to do?" Harry asked me.

"Number one: I can take the manticore. Number two: can't you use magic on them? Number three: I've never seen anything remotely like that disgusting snake-head," I responded, taking my wand from my robes and placing my other hand very near Riptide.

"Percy, of course we can't use magic on them," Harry said, giving me a funny look. "Can't you see that aura thing surrounding them? It's red. I'm positive that if we use magic it'll just bounce right off like a shield. It's probably a force field, so anything physical won't hurt them either."

I looked back at the monsters, which still hadn't moved, most likely sensing the protective wards and spells between us. There was no red to be seen, and definitely no aura. Maybe Harry was going crazy after his dream.

Just then, right as I was about to charge at the manticore, Harry started uttering something that sounded very much like a foreign tongue, speaking directly to the feathered-snake-thing.

I listened to him talk away and realized he was making a great deal of hissing sounds like a snake. Unconsciously, I backed away a couple of steps, terrified.

Harry kept speaking to the snake, and it tilted its head in what seemed to be fascination. He edged closer and closer to the edge of the wards and the monstrous creature, hand outstretched like he was some sort of Hiccup from _How to Train Your Dragon_.

Just when his hand had passed the ward and was two centimeters from the snake's nose, the black monster snapped its mouth, showing a line of fatally sharp teeth, and almost bit off Harry's arm. But Harry had suddenly disappeared — and as the dragon-snake-monster looked downwards at the frozen grass where my friend had fallen, so did I.

* * *

I wasn't sure what had happened. One moment, I was speaking to the creature in parseltongue, trying to calm it down and hoping it wouldn't attack, and then it had snapped at my hand and I fell to the ground. I saw faces flash by — Hermione, Ron, Cho Chang, Percy and Annabeth. And finally, that dreadful snake with emerald green eyes.

I opened my own eyes, completely thrown off by what I saw and heard. It was like I was looking through a heat camera. There was the black monster above me, looking down at me in confusion and surprise. I realized I was lying facedown on the grass, and tried to stand up.

I had no arms to push me up. I had no legs to stand on. I was seeing everything in heat vision. It was when Percy screamed at the top of his lungs in terror that I finally figured out what had happened.

Somehow, someway, I had accidentally magicked myself into becoming an animagus _._ And not any animagus. Somehow my nightmare had come true.

I was a snake.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry it was so short...**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Sorry if I'm like Rick to give you so many cliffies. I can't help it.**

 **POVs: Percy, Hermione**

 _Disclaimer: I own neither book series. All I own is a black walnut wand with a phoenix feather core that refuses to do magic for me._

* * *

Chapter 18

I screamed, absolutely terrified when I saw what lay on the ground, but stood rooted to the spot, unable to move. The creature was now stirring, and it lifted its head slowly, followed by its neck and long body, as if it was trying to stand up. The black dragon-snake monster stared at it, completely alarmed by what it saw.

Was Harry even _in_ there anymore? What had happened?

The long serpent lifted its head to look at me with eerily emerald eyes. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. My hand, which had been unconsciously inching towards Riptide this whole time, finally dug the pen out of my pocket. The python watched, merely cocking his head in confusion. No ordinary snake would do that — which meant that Harry had to be in there _somewhere_.

Nevertheless, I uncapped Riptide, my eyes not leaving the seven-foot-long black python while the bronze sword elongated and reached its full size. As my eyes roved over the snake's body, I realized that it was not exactly the snake from my nightmare. This one, the one Harry had become, was shorter in length, only seven or eight feet long (though it still seemed enormous, and I had to back a couple feet more away from the creature in pure terror) and black, with the regular markings and patterns of a python highlighted in white, and again with the terrifyingly familiar green irises.

I decided to try and speak to the snake before chopping its body and leaving its pieces scattered to the wind like with Kronos.

"H-H-Harry?" I asked tentatively, edging forward towards the serpent that was looking at me. "Is that y-y-you?"

The snake lifted its head a bit further, and nodded like a human being.

"What happened?" I asked him, only to realize that the snake-Harry couldn't speak human. I could only ask yes or no questions.

I carefully studied what had become of my friend. His clothes had disappeared with him, as had his wand, so it _must_ be him in the snake. Or not _in_ , but _as_ the snake.

I faintly recalled the first Transfiguration lesson that Annabeth and I had taken this year, at the beginning of September. McGonagall was talking to us, wearing her usual emerald-green robes, as green as this python's eyes…

What had she said? I closed my eyes as the memory washed over me.

" _An Animagus' animal form is not chosen by the witch or wizard," McGonagall explained. "Rather, it is determined from a witch or wizard's personality and internal aspects, though in some cases the mage can change certain aspects about their appearance in animal form. Now, as you should all know, Animagi are required by Wizarding law to register at the Ministry of Magic as Animagi. If they are not and are caught, they can suffer severe consequences." McGonagall cast a stern look around at all of her students before continuing. "The process of becoming an Animagus is long and highly complicated, and potentially dangerous for the witch or wizard if it goes wrong. I'd like to point out that the act of transforming from human to animal by will is not a Transfiguration spell, nor is it a Charms spell."_

My eyes snapped open faster than lightning. I remembered the lesson perfectly well… but I'd never been known for excellent memory and recall. What was going on? How could I have remembered the lesson that well, down to every last word Professor McGonagall had said?

But now wasn't the time to speculate on such matters. There was a snake in front of me, and my friend was inside the snake — no, he _was_ the snake, I reminded myself.

And the only explanation possible? Harry Potter was an Animagus.

But, according to my unexplainable perfect recall, McGonagall had said that the process of becoming an Animagus was long and very complicated, as well as potentially dangerous. So how had Harry transformed himself into a snake without even using his wand?

And then there was another sentence of McGonagall's lecture to think about: _An Animagus' animal form is determined from a witch or wizard's personality and internal aspects…_

So, even if Harry did have some say in turning into an animal, he had no control over what animal would be. And now he was stuck as an enormous black python. I turned my attention back to said python.

"Harry," I started, this time more confidently, "you're an Animagus. That's the only explanation! But how…?" The snake's green eyes bore into my own, the black pupils slits so impossibly thin that I could barely see them; the irises that covered the entire eyeball were a deep emerald green with white veins spiderwebbed across, giving it a look much like that of smooth marble.

I tore my eyes away from the oddly-mesmerizing depths of the snake's eye, my previous fears now all forgotten, and focused instead on his white-tipped black nose to stop distracting myself.

"Harry, could you try to turn yourself back into a human? Just close your eyes and think about it for a moment," I told him, completely at a loss on what to do.

The snake slithered closer to me, now almost touching my feet, and I felt a cold shiver go up my spine as goosebumps erupted along my flesh. I did _not_ like snakes. I had _never_ liked snakes. They were the creepiest things walking — slithering — on this planet. It was with a good intention that my mom had always kept me away from the reptile house at the zoo when I was a kid.

The only thing that prevented me from screaming out and running away right there and then were the emerald eyes that I knew so well.

"Are you trying? You're not closing your eyes," I said nonchalantly, trying to disguise the fear that must be literally seeping out of my pores in waves.

The snake's forked tongue flicked out, long and slimy and utterly black, for half a second before it looked up at me almost inquisitively from the ground.

I shivered as the long, narrow tongue came out again, probing the air for scents again. The emerald eyes didn't close for one second.

And suddenly, in barely the blink of an eye, the cold black python was gone. And there was Harry, his eyes closed, wand gripped tightly in his hand, lying on his stomach and not moving at all.

"Harry? _Harry!_ Are you alive? Get up!" I sank down to my knees, but before I could even blink, Harry's eyes opened and he coughed slightly before sitting up. "Oh my _gods!_ You're _alive!_ "

"Of course I'm alive, Percy. As you pointed out, I'm just an Animagus." His facial expression looked a bit irritated, but mostly relieved. "Oh, and by the way, don't tell a snake to close their eyes. They don't have eyelids."

I stood up with him, and a sudden, strange sound snapped me out of my reverie. Through all of Harry's python episode, I had completely forgotten about the two monsters standing right there, not ten feet away at the edge of the wards. The big black serpent with orange eyes and wings made a hissing sound again, but its eyes were no longer full of malicious intent as they had only a few minutes ago. The thought itself caused me to mentally stumble. It had only been a few minutes since Harry and I had come near the Forbidden Forest, discussing our nightmares together.

I realized that I still had Riptide in my hands. Harry was staring at the blade curiously.

"So that sword-pen is what you've been hiding for the past months? You owe me an explanation. And I heard what you said before," Harry said. "What is a demigod, Percy?"

"Maybe we should talk after this fight," I whispered at him, my eyes on the strange snake-bird thing. Suddenly, a loud hiss interrupted me as I raised the blade higher. The manticore next to the other monster turned away and leapt into the woods, disappearing instantly in the thick fog.

"Oh, there's no need for a fight," Harry said calmly, approaching the monster. "This is a rare species of quetzalcoatl. He was simply curious, he doesn't want to fight."

"And how would you know that?" I retorted, not sheathing Anaklusmos yet.

"Remember when I was speaking to the quetzalcoatl before my — er, Animagus moment?" I nodded suspiciously at Harry. "I was speaking parseltongue, the language of snakes. The coatl understood, because he's half-snake, and just told me that he was no threat. Although," he added, staring into the woods where the manticore had just disappeared, "I have to admit that the same can't be said of that manticore."

Just then, the quetzalcoatl bowed deeply to me, closing its garnet eyes and exposing the feathers adorning his neck, before turning around and flying off into the foggy Forbidden Forest. I stared after the creature, wondering vainly what had just happened.

"Well, you can put your sword away. I have to say I've never heard of a quetzalcoatl before." Harry was looking at a space over my head so intently I wondered if there was a wasp shook his head before starting to walk back to the castle. "Come on, Percy. You can explain your story on the way back."

* * *

Annabeth had been worried sick about Percy all morning, and I couldn't say I could blame her. I was worried about Harry too. The two of them must have left really early in the morning, and hadn't come back by lunchtime.

So it was no surprise that when Percy and Harry stumbled into the near-silent Gryffindor common room, sopping wet but unharmed, Annabeth ran over and threw her arms around her boyfriend, not caring about the rainwater dripping from his soaked robes onto her warm ones.

"Where have you two been? It's nearly one in the afternoon, and you haven't been around all morning!" she yelled at the two of them once she had finished hugging both of them. "Hermione and I were worried sick all morning!"

It was true, no matter how well I disguised it under three two-thousand-page textbooks, a half-full bottle of navy blue ink, a perfectly clipped golden eagle's quill and two neatly finished rolls of parchment. Annabeth was less discreet about hiding her distress; though her homework was all done, the written parts were all scrawled in messy black ink (some parts in ancient Greek, since she still hadn't done the translating spell) and smudged at parts, the ink was dripping down the side of its bottle, and her quill, fashioned from one of her owl Merlin's black feathers, was stuck in a messy golden bun on the side of her head.

I sighed upon seeing that her Potions paper was still in Greek, and silently picked it up, pointing my wand at it and muttering the translation spell, " _Vertere Ingles"_ so no one could get suspicious.

I also closed Annabeth's laptop, which she'd secretly told me had once belonged to the genius inventor Daedalus, who she'd met in person even though he'd lived thousands of years ago. (Apparently he was her half-brother. Unable to wrap my head around the simple thought that he'd lived for thousands of years in different bodies, I almost fainted at the news that he was a son of Athena. There were advantages to knowing that your best friend is a demigod, yes, but there were most definitely disadvantages.)

Harry and Percy came and sat down on two crimson poufs by the roaring fireplace, drying themselves off.

"Where were you?" Annabeth asked again, but I already knew the answer when Harry looked at me. Percy had told him everything — everything about the Greek gods and Camp Half-Blood and Rachel's prophecy. I could tell that much from his eyes. But there was something else there — something he was not telling Annabeth or me, and probably wouldn't unless we interrogated the truth out of him.

Oh, Ron would be infuriated when he found out he'd been left out of the loop.

Percy and Annabeth were staring at each other again, communicating with facial expressions, when Harry came over to me. "He told me everything," he said quietly before looking at me with raised eyebrows. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

I nodded very subtly. "I also understand there's something you don't want to tell me. But we really should tell Ron before he figures it out himself and explodes of anger." I felt my mouth pull into a frown. Ron really could be rude and a crybaby sometimes. It never failed to bother me.

"No," Harry said suddenly. "No offense to Ron, but I simply do not trust him to keep a secret this big." When he said that, I got the feeling that he wasn't just referring to Annabeth and Percy's secret; something major had happened this morning.

"Just don't tell him yet," Harry said before getting up and leaving for the dormitories to change.

I wouldn't tell Ron, sure, but I was already wondering how long it would take to crack Harry.

* * *

 **A/N: Merry (Happy?) Christmas!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: S** **tuff will happen, stuff will be explained, stuff will go into time-lapse, and stuff will be kept a secret!**

 **POVs: Percy, Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to the series (plural?). Very unfortunately. But I do own the black quetzalcoatl. His name is Navin. Thank you very much. Oh, I also don't own Snickers bars. In case anyone was wondering._

* * *

Chapter 19

Harry had to keep practicing his transition between python and human, because the two of us both figured that it wouldn't be too good if he woke up as a python again and Seamus or Ron was up already.

Nearly a month had passed since Harry's accidental animagus-becoming-episode-thing. It was already the beginning of November, and the holiday break was rapidly approaching. Hermione was completely intent on breaking Harry, commenting regularly on the purple circles under his eyes and his strange new habits.

Two weeks after the meeting with the quetzalcoatl and manticore in the Forbidden Forest, I'd finally convinced Harry to go talk to McGonagall about his animagus form. He'd wanted to seek Dumbledore's council first, but I managed to convince him with the fact that McGonagall was an animagus herself. He'd asked me to accompany him, so I did.

McGonagall, interestingly enough, didn't turn us both in for knowing/being an illegal animagus. She did, though, give Harry some interesting advice and information on his snake form.

Strangest of all to me, I found myself remembering her every word perfectly. I still had no idea what was going on, but there was something really freaky that was making me remember everything almost perfectly. Not only could I recall a person's words a month later, but I was remembering a lot more information from classes and didn't have to take as many notes. Anyone else would have found this trait incredibly helpful, but all it did to me was creep me out.

" _An animagus carries a distinguishing feature of his into animal form. As you know, my animagus is a cat with spectacle marks around its eyes."_ Well, that explained the abnormal emerald eyes. " _Also, an animagus' form is determined by his personality."_ She'd looked rather oddly at Harry, and I understood how she felt. How was Harry, the bravest Gryffindor, opposed to Slytherin and Voldemort, a _snake_ for the gods' sakes?

The snake represents evil in the fight against Voldemort. And Harry was most definitely _not_ evil. Harry, McGonagall and I were still trying to figure out why Harry's animagus form was a python.

Another thing about animagi, McGonagall had said, was that they could carry some habits from their animal form into human life. She herself used to love chasing balls of yarn as a teenager in secret, when she first acquired her animagus form in her seventh year at Hogwarts. " _Some of your snake habits will carry into your human form. Beware and practice to not show those in front of others."_

And indeed they had, making Hermione (and eventually Annabeth) all the more suspicious. Not only would Harry sometimes catch himself flicking out his tongue in a ridiculously creepy way, but he also would (completely unconsciously, of course) show his teeth like a venomous snake whenever threatened. Thankfully, the second behavior only ever happened when he was around me (and occasionally around McGonagall), but it was actually really threatening behavior, and I hoped that it would never happen around his other friends.

After a month, though, Harry was getting used to his python/venomous snake reactions and could control them without much difficulty. What was harder was getting him to stop falling asleep curled up in a ball with his head on his stomach and waking up as a snake.

It had required some strange research, but I'd eventually found out why Harry's coloring would change frequently upon entering snake form. Though his regular coloring was black with white markings, he once woke up entirely white, excepting one patchy ring of brown around his tail, head, and midsection. And once, he woke up with the same green-brown coloring of the evil python constantly reappearing in my nightmares, scaring the Hades out of me when I thought the evil snake had eaten Harry. I'd calmed down when I'd noticed the unblinking, never-closing green eyes.

Apparently, ball pythons had different morphs, or coloring. And even though Harry wasn't a ball python, he was some type of python combined with venomous viper, and so his coloring changed occasionally. The rarest coloring I'd seen his snake hide morph into was a vibrant shade of electric blue, so much like Thalia's eyes that I almost threw up.

So it didn't surprise me in the least when I woke up a cold November morning to find the rest of our dorm empty and Harry curled up under his covers, colored red and yellow, his emerald eyes open like always. Feeling uncomfortable (though not as much as a month ago), I prodded Harry's smooth head scales. The eyes didn't change, but I immediately knew he was awake when he lifted his head and opened his mouth in what was probably a yawn but looked more like a three-inch-long fangs display that made me shudder. "Displaying your Gryffindor spirit, Harry?" I murmured, eyeing the colors displayed on the snake's back.

In less than the blink of an eye, the snake was gone, replaced by a yawning Harry. "Harry, you gotta stop waking up like a snake! If someone wakes up and sees you, how'll they react?" I whispered.

"I did it again?" Harry asked. I nodded. "Well, at least it's not every day now. More like three times a week."

It was true. In October, he'd usually been waking up in animagus form every single day. He'd fall asleep a human, though in snake position, and turn into a python halfway through the night.

At least now, it didn't happen so often.

"Hey, have you figured out anything for Dumbledore's Army? Where are we meeting?" I asked him. For the past week, Harry had been working his butt off to find a secret place for the new group, Dumbledore's Army, to meet regularly. Ever since Umbridge had passed the stupid "Educational Decree Number 24" as the High Inquisitor, every organization over three students had been banned unless permitted by herself, who believed she was the queen of Hogwarts or something. The Gryffindor team had been disbanded by the idiot. We hadn't flown in a couple of weeks now, and Angelina was totally freaking out. But with everything else going on, I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to stay on the Gryffindor team. I was only a replacement, anyway.

"Oh, yeah! I sent Dobby out yesterday night to see if he could find any place."

"Dobby?"

"Oh, right. The house elf. He'll do anything for me after I freed him from the Malfoys. Indirectly, of course." Sure, whatever. I could believe basically anything by now. We'd actually named our organization "Dumbledore's Army" because it was the very thing the Ministry feared.

Though how they feared something like that I had no clue. It just sounded like an army made up of dumb, old doors. But whatever.

"I'll see if I can talk to Dobby today." Just then, there was a really loud _crack_ and a wriggling creature wearing a stack of woolen knitted hats upon its head appeared out of nowhere. It was a short, rather ugly creature, with eyes the size and color of tennis balls. "Dobby!"

"So _that's_ where Hermione's elf hats have gone," I muttered to myself, but Harry still heard. Darn that stupidly accurate serpent-hearing he had now.

"Yeah, don't tell anyone. Hermione'll be completely put out when she finds out. Anyway, have you found anything, Dobby?"

"Yes, sir, Dobby has found a room for the D.A. 'Tis the Room of Requirement, Mr. Potter." I had no idea what he was talking about, but as the house elf kept talking, Harry nodded along, understanding.

"Thanks a ton, Dobby."

"No problem, no problem at all, sir, after what Harry Potter has done for Dobby." The house elf snapped his fingers and disapparated with another loud crack.

Harry flopped back down on his bed. "Well, it looks like we have a place for the D.A. Somewhere that stupid witch won't interfere."

* * *

I was completely shocked when Dumbledore sent Percy and I both a letter in the morning on the following Monday. McGonagall handed them to us, looking a bit suspiciously my way as if I would spontaneously burst into snake form. Fortunately, I had only done that once, and it had been in the Transfiguration room with only McGonagall and Percy witnesses. It seemed to occur when I was angriest.

I unfolded the letter to read Dumbledore's simple words:

 _Please meet in my office during lunch. Bring Hermione and Ron._

 _I happen to rather enjoy Snickers bars._

I looked over Percy's shoulder at his note, only to find it said the exact same thing, except that he was to bring Rachel and Annabeth, and it excluded the part about Snickers.

I guessed it wouldn't be possible to meet with Dumbledore's Army today, at least not during lunch.

I told Ron and Hermione to meet me in front of the gargoyle leading to Dumbledore's office instead of coming to the Great Hall for lunch. My yearning to know what Dumbledore wanted to talk about to all of us was nearly killing me.

Our morning could have been worse. First we had Charms with the Ravenclaws. Professor Flitwick instructed us in Stunning Spells. "Now, repeat after me. No wands, please. _Stupefy!"_

" _Stupefy!_ " everyone echoed back, some more hollow than others. Neville, who had apparently forgotten to put his wand away when repeating the spell, caused a streak of red lightning to shoot from the tip of his wand and hit the jar next to Professor Flitwick. Luna Lovegood giggled slightly, her eyes far away even though they were staring at Neville's blushing face.

"Very good, Mr. Longbottom, that was very well done indeed, though I might suggest that you put your wand away while we practice saying the incantation?" Flitwick squeaked. "Now, does anyone know what a Stunning spell does?"

Of course Hermione's hand was up in the air before he'd finished the sentence.

Next came Transfiguration, which wasn't too bad. We began working on Doubling Charms, using tea cups to try and make a copy. That was our only homework. Finally, History of Magic rolled around. I tried to at least focus on what Binns was saying, but failed completely after fifteen minutes of notes. The only thing I caught at the end was our homework: one scroll of parchment on the the great wizards and witches of the medieval era.

Faster than I could realize, Hermione, Ron and I were walking up to the gargoyle together. Percy and Annabeth were also there, though there was no Rachel in sight. "The password's changed. I don't know it," Percy told me.

"That's okay, Dumbledore wrote it down for me. Snickers," I told the magic gargoyle. It jumped aside to reveal the same old spiraling staircase. Just then, a wave of flaming red hair appeared down the hall and ran up to us.

"Hi, sorry I'm late. What are we here for again?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know," Percy admitted. "Dumbledore called us here. He didn't say why."

"I hope it's something important," Hermione fretted. "We have so much homework to get started on already, and I usually work on it during lunch…" At least she didn't look as queasy to see Rachel anymore.

"Oh, Hermione, give it a rest. There's not so much to do. Unless you have a Time Turner again, you should finish your homework by five." Ron looked a bit annoyed. Then I remembered; he had no idea about Percy or Annabeth, and he had no idea about my snake form. Well, only Percy and the Transfiguration professor knew about the latter.

"What's a Time Turner?" Annabeth asked curiously.

"Nothing," Hermione, Ron, and I all said at the same time. She looked absolutely suspicious, but didn't pursue the matter. That was strange; Annabeth almost always wanted to know what was going on.

But the blond girl simply turned to look at Rachel and Percy, hiding a smile. "Blue hairbrush." The two of them exploded with laughter. "I don't know, that's what I thought of. The Time Lord and all."

I remembered suddenly. The three of them had battled and defeated Kronos, the Lord of Time, greatest Greek Titan. Nervously, I turned to look at Ron, but he didn't even look fazed by the phrase "Time Lord". In fact, he wasn't listening to our conversation anymore.

The spiraling staircases had stopped moving up, and right in front of the six of us was the door to Dumbledore's office.

* * *

 **A/N: I love all your ideas!**


	20. Chapter 20

**POVs: Harry, Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I cannot say I own anything but some of the plot (a.k.a. the Animagi stuff and the crossover)._

* * *

Chapter 20

Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, peering closely at what appeared to be today's _Daily Prophet_ article. Suddenly, I felt nervous. Had McGonagall told him about my Animagus abilities and reported that I was required to register as one?

But if that was the case, then why would Dumbledore ask for all of us to come up to his office?

Maybe he'd found out about Dumbledore's Army. That would _not_ be good. But he wouldn't really tell anyone, or so I hoped. His eyes were twinkling kindly, and all my doubts were suddenly washed away. This was Dumbledore. We could trust him.

"Hello, everyone. Please take a seat. We have much to discuss, and I don't want to intrude too much on your free time this Sunday." As we all sat down on the plush couches by Dumbledore's fireplace, I decided not to mention that our 'free time' would be spent on homework all of today.

"Now, at the beginning of this school year, you three —" he gently pointed at Ron, Hermione and me "— met Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Rachel Dare. I informed you three that if you wanted to better understand the type of wizard and witches they are, you would have to ask them yourself."

The three of us nodded, remembering the event but unsure of what would happen next.

"Now, as I take it, both Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter were told about the godly world of ancient Greece." How did Dumbledore know this? I knew my face was a mask of confusion, but I was also scared as to where this was going. Ron's reaction when he found out he'd been left out of the loop… well, it would certainly not be pretty.

"However, there are a couple of things that haven't been told to either of you. Therefore, I take it upon myself to explain the _entire_ story, both to you two and Mr. Weasley."

I could tell Ron was already upset. His ears were red, and his slightly heavier breathing indicated that he was trying to prevent himself from bursting out in anger. I silently gulped, mentally pleading that Dumbledore go on before my friend exploded.

"Well, you see… Percy and Annabeth are indeed magical, but not in the way you think they are. They have never studied wand magic. All of the magic in which they're proficient is completely wandless." Annabeth looked about to protest, but didn't open her mouth. "They are demigods, half-god and half-human."

Ron didn't even gasp; I looked over at him and realized he was peering suspiciously, eyes narrowed, at Dumbledore, as if this had been expected but unexpected at the same time. At least he wasn't angry now. He was curious, he wanted to know more.

"Perseus Jackson is the son of Poseidon. He can, to the extent of my knowledge, control any form of water like a hydrokinetic. Annabeth Chase is the daughter of Athena, and is extremely gifted in war-planning and methodical thinking around a problem." Annabeth's ears turned red, embarrassed. Percy hadn't told me that Annabeth was really good with strategizing. That would be a very useful quality if at some point we had to fight Death Eaters (and I had absolutely no doubt that we would, at some point).

"What about Rachel?" Ron asked, intrigued. I was wondering the same thing. Now that I thought about it, Percy had told me quite a bit about the godly world, but he'd left out a lot. Maybe he was scared that if we knew the truth, we would blanch like Hermione did every time Rachel stopped by the Gryffindor table in the mornings.

As it was, just the mention of Rachel had Hermione's face pale as ghost, an unnatural shade of white.

"You do remember the prophecy that Percy told us when we first met at Camp Half-Blood?" Dumbledore inquired gently.

Of course I did… it was genuinely the longest prophecy I'd ever heard, talking about Dumbledore and Voldemort and nonsense.

"Yes," Ron and I answered together.

"Well, Rachel is called the Oracle. She is imbued with the Spirit of Delphi and therefore a Seer of the future. She — well, more accurately, the spirit within her, given to her by Apollo — gives prophecies of the future that are very inevitable and often difficult to dissect and comprehend."

Percy looked like he wanted to add something, but it must have been a risky bit of information, because he was shifting back and forth, fiddling with his fingers, and fidgeting. But I ignored him as the pieces clicked together in my head.

"Of _course!_ " I yelled out. "That's why Trelawney is so… spiritually attracted to Rachel in Divination! Because she's a True Seer."

"Yes," Rachel said, speaking for the first time. "Trelawney saw right through me on the first day of class. She picked me out as a True Seer the first time we met, but I don't even know how… I was terrified that you'd figure out what I was, what with her behavior around me every time I walk into the room. She wants to offer to teach me more about the Sight I possess, though it's not me, it's Delphi. And anyway, I think she could do with some more teaching than me. She isn't a complete fraud, and she's given prophecies before, but she can't really See the future like she says she can and only is correct when giving one of said prophecies.

"At the beginning of the year, I was terrified that I'd perform a prophecy in the middle of the class and freak everyone out. I can't control when the prophecies happen, they just spill out of me, and I don't even remember what happens when I go into Oracle-mode, it's like I'm being possessed."

Hermione was fanning her face with her hand, looking unhealthily pale and sweaty. "Yes, I could see how your giving a prophecy would be bad in a classful of students."

And then I realized something else; Hermione had _seen_ Rachel give a prophecy. That would explain her behavior around the redheaded Slytherin.

But when? Maybe that day she stormed outside to the Black Lake to find them…

Dumbledore seemed to be having the same thoughts as me. "Dear Ms. Granger, you've _seen_ Rachel deliver a prophecy?"

The color slightly returned to her face. "Erm, yes, it was the day I found out about them being demigods. But it was more like the _third_ part of a prophecy. The same prophecy. Rachel just kept adding onto it."

"What is it?" Dumbledore asked, very interested now.

"Uhmm… maybe Rachel or Percy can repeat it, I don't quite remember…"

" _Pale blond and raven black_

 _Can't ever choose to remain back_

 _They must stand and fight together_

 _Or be defeated by a magic feather,"_ Percy recited immediately. He then frowned at himself, as if he hadn't expected himself to remember that at all. Dumbledore was eyeing him with a tinge of suspicion, but also amusement. I wondered what was going on there…

"I see," said Dumbledore, and I could almost see the cogs spinning in his head. "Was there anyone else who witnessed this event?"

Hermione hesitated, and the pause gave her away. "Draco Malfoy."

" _WHAT?!_ " Ron yelled angrily, and I was wholeheartedly with him. Though how I hadn't seen that sooner, I didn't know… after all, Malfoy hadn't been sitting at the Slytherin table the day that Hermione stormed out of the Great Hall.

"So Mr. Malfoy is in on the secret. Is there anything you wish to tell me about him?"

My blood chilled as I remembered Dumbledore asking me almost the exact same question three years ago, and fifty years ago then to Tom Riddle.

Annabeth hesitated, but finally decided to be completely honest. "I understand that it's necessary for the six of us to trust each other, and without honesty, we can't trust." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Percy and I have been developing a theory about Draco Malfoy ever since the beginning of the year. Percy noted that he had the same eyes as I do, and when we asked him about his ancestry, he said he knew that his father's father was Abraxas Malfoy, but no one knew who his grandmother was."

Hermione had already put together the pieces. I could see it shining on her face, but I had no idea what the theory was myself.

"We know that Draco isn't a half-blood. The Malfoy family has always been pure-blooded. But this might not be exactly true," Percy added on.

Annabeth took a breath. "We believe that Lucius Malfoy's mother is Athena, goddess of Wisdom."

This time, a gasp was audible all around the room, even from Rachel. The only one who seemed unsurprised was Dumbledore.

"Which makes Draco related to me, as his father is my half-brother." I made a face. That was some really confusing theory right there.

"I know it's confusing," Annabeth said, "but it makes sense. He said he'd _seen_ me somewhere, even though I didn't remember him at all. And now he knows about demigods and our world, even though we didn't tell him our theory."

I looked around the room to see reactions. Hermione had this look of awe on her face, staring off into the headmaster's office. Ron was completely baffled; he looked like he had no idea what to say. Rachel, who had obviously been out of the loop on this theory, was gaping open-mouthed, staring at Percy and Annabeth and trying to decide whether or not to say something. It might've been my imagination, or lack of sleep, but she seemed surrounded by a very faint green light. Dumbledore, of course, was staring calmly at the two demigods, a twinge of curiosity lighting up his face.

"Interesting. I will have to investigate the Malfoy ancestry. As of right now, I would like to continue your story about the war with Kronos."

Percy and Annabeth nodded, but I tuned out most of Dumbledore's explanation of the Battle of Manhattan and the war with Kronos, because it was something that Percy had already explained to me, in so much detail that I felt like I could've been there.

I looked discreetly at Rachel, wondering if my eyes were playing a trick on me as the aura brightened. It was definitely the same one I'd seen in the class with Umbridge on the first day of DADA. Surely, if her aura was actually showing again, I wouldn't be the only one seeing it. Ron had seen it that first day in class, hadn't he?

Sure enough, after Dumbledore finished summing up the war with Kronos, Ron looked over at Rachel. Her expression was completely normal as he said, "Are you okay, Rachel? You look a bit sick."

"No, I'm fine. Why?"

"I don't know, you look a bit green."

"She looks fine to me," said Percy, and both Annabeth and Hermione nodded in agreement.

"No, I see it too, there's like this greenish tinge around her, like an aura —" Percy and Annabeth both blanched quickly and rushed over to Rachel, but before they reached her, she doubled over, seemingly having been punched in the stomach by an invisible force, and stood up ramrod-straight again.

I watched as her aura brightened to the point it was almost unbearable, and then as a wisp poured out of her mouth, as green as her aura and possessed eyes.

Hermione screamed a scream of pure terror and ducked behind the couch.

The wisp coiled unto itself, taking the form of a long smoky serpent, and suddenly I realized why the Sorting Hat had placed Rachel in Slytherin.

It wasn't because of Rachel herself; it was because of the Oracle: the Spirit of Delphi.

The candles and torches around Dumbledore's office flickered and went out, as if the green fog had extinguished the fire and swallowed it whole.

The snake opened its mouth and spoke in a three-timbred voice, in parseltongue.

" _They'll find a prophecy meant for one_

 _And see the end has at last begun._

 _He'll take the form of one he fears_

 _He'll teach it to some of his peers_

 _The one with blond with understand_

 _And will experience it firsthand."_

As the snake spoke, I felt myself inexplicably drawn to it, and reached my wand arm out to touch the fog —

But the snake was receding, slithering back into Rachel's mouth in a horrifying way that caused me to almost vomit everywhere —

And suddenly I fell face-first onto the floor, and Rachel fell backwards, stiff as a board, into Percy's and Annabeth's arms, and all I knew was red and black.

* * *

Harry was falling forwards, towards the snake that was receding back into Rachel's mouth the way that had horrified me so many times. As Rachel fell backwards into my arms, I watched Harry fall forwards in a way I'd seen him fall only once before, near the Forbidden Forest and the manticore and the quetzalcoatl.

Hermione screamed again, taking out her wand and pointing it at the enormous black-and-white snake now strewn across Dumbledore's floor, and this time both Annabeth and Ron screamed with her. Annabeth grabbed her wand and pointed it at Harry as well, leaving me to support Rachel, while Ron managed to knock himself out with his own hand.

Dumbledore stood up calmly, though I knew he was at least a bit confused.

Rachel's eyes fluttered open and I set her back on her feet before running towards the python and turning around and spreading my arms protectively.

The office was silent and dark for half a minute until Annabeth said quietly, her voice very tense, "Percy, get away from the snake."

"What are you _doing_?" Hermione almost screeched, frenzied and fearful, her wand still pointed at me. "Where did that — that _thing_ come from? Where's Harry?"

I looked back at the snake, which was now lifting its head and shaking it in a very human way. It seemed really dizzy and shook its head again.

"Okay, the three of you have to calm down." I looked at Annabeth and Hermione, who both had murderous looks in their eyes, and at Rachel, who was standing very stiffly, unmoving as she stared at the snake. "Lower your wands and I'll explain."

Slowly, like they were scared of me all of the sudden, the two girls lowered their wands, but kept gripping them like a lifeline. I didn't blame them; I myself had drawn Riptide the first time this happened.

"Let me introduce you to Harry Potter in his other form."

"What a peculiar bit of magic this is," I heard Dumbledore mutter.

Ron stirred, sitting up from the place he'd fallen behind the couch. He had a severe bruise already forming on his upper lip as he stood up and saw the snake again.

"Blimey! What happened? Where did that _thing_ come from?"

"Harry," I answered simply.

" _WHAT_?!"

So I finally explained. "Last month, Harry and I were walking near the Forbidden Forest, and came upon some monsters. One of them was a quetzalcoatl, a half-snake, half-bird. It spoke to Harry, and in a bout of completely accidental, wandless magic, Harry turned into a python. The snake you see is Harry Potter, an animagus."

"Interesting," said Dumbledore, who I'd all but forgotten. "Has he spoken with Minerva?"

"Yes, he talked with Professor McGonagall. She wants him to register, but he's not sure even though it's the law."

Just then, the snake decided to slither right past me, right through my legs, and lifted his head in interest towards Hermione and Annabeth.

"Harry? Is that really you? An animagus?" Hermione whispered, lowering to the python's eye level, and the snake nodded. Hermione stumbled back a few steps in surprise.

"Could you turn back to a human, Harry?" Dumbledore suggested quietly. As if on cue, The snake lifted its head even higher until it was at my height, and turned into a person.

"Very well. This is an unexpected turn of events," Dumbledore whispered, almost to himself. I'd like to ponder everything we discussed today, as well as the fourth part of the prophecy Rachel delivered."

In the rush of Harry's shape-shifting, I'd already forgotten what caused it.

"I will see if we can speak another day. For now, you may all leave."

And Dumbledore swiveled around, walking to a basin filled with glowing silver water, as the six of us recognized the dismissal and left the headmaster's office.

* * *

 **A/N: Please review with thoughts!**


	21. Chapter 21

**POVs: Percy, Harry**

 _Disclaimer: gasdlif pdfgiadosigg JK Rowling sdlfhasdoifh Rick Riordan lfaksdfoh dskfaosd_

* * *

Chapter 21

The first Quidditch game of the season, Slytherin vs Gryffindor, was approaching very quickly. Angelina had managed to get the Gryffindor team back into shape, telling Harry to _please_ not insult Umbridge any more. I'd helped; asking Umbridge if the team could get back together wasn't that hard, due to how she saw me as a marvelous student because of my silence and willingness to work in class instead of protest and get detention with her. Of course, I had to pretend to flatter her, telling her what a good teacher she was and how much I absolutely _loved_ her Ministry teaching methods. That did the trick.

Hermione and Annabeth were basically ignoring Quidditch completely, as the two of them worked to place a Protean Charm on golden coins for Dumbledore's Army, and were trying desperately to find a date for the first get-together of the army.

Said get-together had somehow been scheduled to be right after the Quidditch game ended this Saturday, in two days. It looked like I wouldn't have much time to do the massive amounts of homework I was already struggling with on Saturday. Which meant Sunday would be homework day from dawn to dusk ( _so_ looking forward to that).

Rachel had tried out for the Slytherin Quidditch team only recently (Slytherin had tryouts twice because they were lacking players) and achieved Beater, but had quickly (and regretfully) resigned after both Annabeth and Hermione reminded her about her little "talent". Honestly, I was considering quitting Quidditch soon too. I probably shouldn't stretch it too much with Zeus and end up inexplicably shot out of the sky by a lightning bolt on a sunny day. And I had tons to think about without Quidditch being an issue. So I had decided to focus less on Quidditch (which was not too hard, since I was only a replacement Chaser and didn't need to be at every practice)

Harry was trying to train Ron at every spare moment he got. Despite all the extra practice and the drills he had at the regular practice, his skills seemed to just be going downhill, as well as his self-esteem.

Dumbledore hadn't called us back to his office since last weekend. Rachel hadn't given another part of the prophecy since last weekend.

But weirdest of all, Harry had not accidentally assumed his animal form since last weekend. He no longer woke up a snake. As a matter of fact, he hadn't shifted into his second form since last weekend at all.

I was starting to worry he'd lost his animagus capabilities because Dumbledore knew he was unregistered, but Harry assured me that that wasn't the case. However, he'd refrained from explaining anything else to me after that, walking away with doubt in his eyes, so I didn't know what to think.

Today, I walked into the Quidditch locker rooms (or changing rooms, whatever these British people called them) for our last practice and managed to talk to Angelina aside about my dilemma with Quidditch. I was nervous for no reason. Apparently, the team was in such good shape for our upcoming match against Slytherin (excepting Ron, who was just getting hideously bad at Keeping) that Angelina didn't even mind when I told her about this. Of course, she also knew of all the time I was supposed to be putting in to be a trainer for the D.A., since she was in it herself.

"Just go to the match this Saturday, and then you can resign officially. I bet Umbridge will be just _delighted_ —" (she rolled her eyes) "— especially when we beat her precious little Slytherins in the match."

And then she left me standing there, broom in hand and Gryffindor cloak in the other.

Hermione, Annabeth and I were all sitting in the common room alone albeit the presence of Crookshanks and Merlin, finishing up homework at ten o'clock. Not for the first time this evening, I slammed down my quill in frustration, running my hands through my hair as I tried to decipher what I'd just written in English for my essay.

"Percy, you should stop working yourself up so much! If you'd just write it in —"

"Annabeth, for one, I can't write in Greek, and two, even if I could, it would take me ages to, longer than it would to write it in English."

Annabeth gave me a long glare that very obviously said that I was lying to myself if I thought that was true before looking back down at her own homework. I felt the anger building up inside of me, but I couldn't do anything to stop it.

Merlin, who was nestled comfortably among her crazy blond hair, let out a small hoot of protest before settling back in again. Instead of focusing on my homework, I decided to speak again.

"Why do you need to keep that stupid bird on your head? Can't he go to the owlery like all the other _normal_ owls?" I was scowling; I knew it.

Annabeth, I could tell, was having difficulty with keeping her own facial expression controlled. Finally, she replied, in a calm voice that hid her internal turmoil, "Merlin _isn't_ a normal owl, if you haven't noticed, Percy. And also, it's not like I _want_ him sitting on my head. It's just my genes that make me his queen."

I stood up abruptly, toppling a bottle of Color-Changing Ink onto Crookshanks' head, who meowed up at me angrily. My fists were clenched, my back straight as a ramrod as I said, "I'm going out for a walk on the grounds."

Annabeth and Hermione stared after me as I basically ran out the portrait hole.

I paced down hallways that looked exactly the same except for the portraits, not knowing where I was going, until I crashed rather suddenly into a person. Said person had white-blond hair slicked back as always, grey eyes, and a mountain of black, silver, and green clothing that smelled of cold night air.

"Hello, Draco? You were just outside?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation pleasant while voicing my curiosity; the previous anger was already forgotten.

"Er… yes. Just taking a walk around the grounds, getting some fresh air. But it's very cold, so if you're going out too, wear some la —"

"PERSEUS JACKSON! There you are!" Annabeth appeared around the corner and rammed straight into me and Malfoy.

"Hello… I was just leaving. Good night." And with another swish of his black and green robes, Draco Malfoy was gone.

Annabeth looked back at me, not even caring for an explanation. Instead, she raised herself to her tippy-toes and gently pressed her lips to my forehead. "I'm sorry for being so rude. I guess we're all overstressed."

"Yeah," I muttered, my voice softer as my arms wrapped her in a hug. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled. I shouldn't have just left like that."

"Well, tomorrow will be your last day of Quidditch, and from then you can focus on just the D.A. and schoolwork." She looked up at me hopefully.

"Oh, and also helping Harry, Ron, and Hermione to end this psychotic killer who is on the loose, alive again, when we have no idea how to kill him. Piece of cake."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, taking my hand. "Come on, Seaweed Brain. You need to get to bed. You have to get up early tomorrow."

I moaned, but followed her back up to Gryffindor Tower anyway.

* * *

Ever since the meeting with Dumbledore had gone horrifically wrong and I had seen how people _really_ reacted to my alternate form, I had put my body on a lock and forced myself to not even _think_ about animagi or anything snake-like.

I felt like the other part of me was not doing well with being contained in a small fragment of my soul. It was not happy at all, and it was trying to break free of its tether. I knew that if I didn't let it out soon, I would explode into a six-foot-long python on my broom tomorrow in front of the entire school at the Quidditch match.

I waited until I was absolutely _positive_ that everyone was sleeping that night, and then checked that the curtains around my bed were drawn tightly and covered myself in the bedding and pillows. I finally let the leash that had been holding back my animalistic side snap.

The effect was instantaneous; my arms and legs vanished, replaced by a long tail, and my vision narrowed until all I saw was the yellow warmth of the red Gryffindor sheets around me. My tongue flicked out without me even thinking about it. I lay in my bed, unmoving, until my sensitive scales had had just about enough warmth soak in. I was cold-blooded, and I knew that if I overheated in snake-form I could actually die. So I quickly switched back to human, finding myself covered in sweat.

And just in time, too. Someone else had literally just walked into the dormitory. Unfortunately, I hadn't heard his footsteps coming up the stairwell before, because as a snake I could only hear loud vibrations in the air through my inner ear. The vibrations of someone's footsteps — someone I now knew was Percy — were not very loud through both a door and my Gryffindor bedding.

I shifted in my human form, sitting up slightly while trying to be as silent as possible. It obviously didn't work, because Percy pulled back one of the curtains slightly with his finger and looked at me.

"You're still awake? I thought you'd be sleeping. It's nearly midnight," he whispered, yawning without bothering to cover his mouth.

"Well, what were you doing?" I accused quietly.

"Homework. What were _you_ doing? Shape-shifting again?" I stiffened when he said this, but forced myself to relax and not look in his eyes when he let the curtain snap back into place and laughed quietly at his own joke. "Get some sleep, Harry. You don't want to fall off your broom tomorrow, and don't forget about the meeting after the match..." Percy whispered through the curtain before heading to his own bed.

No, I didn't want to fall off my broom tomorrow, but I was scared that it would be for a different reason than sleep deprivation.

Internally, I tethered the beast trying to free itself again. _Nope,_ I told it, _you're not getting free. I_ will _learn to control you._

And I would. Because no matter how many times I tried to tell myself otherwise, the reason I was _really_ scared was because I didn't know whose magic the snake side of me was.

Was it really _my_ magic, coming from a holly and phoenix-feather wand or my wizarding bloodlines?

Or was it Voldemort's, controlling me on the inside whatever way he wished?

* * *

 **A/N: Happy MLKJ Day!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Get ready for some Quidditch!**

 **POV: Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own HP or PJO. Some parts of this chapter are taken directly from OotP._

* * *

Chapter 22

The morning of the first Quidditch game was not sunny like I'd hoped. Thunderclouds had already rolled in across the Scottish sky when I woke up early (so early it was still dark) to find neither Ron nor Percy in the dormitory. Strange — both of them were usually late risers. I thought they might be practicing for the last time before the game until I reached the bottom of the staircase and entered the common room. There, sitting on the couches in front of the fireplace, the flickering of the flames being the only light in the room, were Annabeth, Percy, and Ron.

The armchair nearest the fire was stacked high with books, and only with a second glance did I recognize Hermione's sleeping form, a dripping quill still in her hands and her hair a wild bush as she snored lightly from under her pile of textbooks and parchment rolls. Someone — probably Annabeth — had placed an old quilt over her, confirming my suspicion that Hermione had fallen asleep in the middle of her homework sometime late last night.

Ron and Annabeth seemed completely engaged in a game of wizard's chess, and it looked like Annabeth was winning (though I couldn't really tell, I wasn't the chess master). Percy, like Hermione, looked half-asleep as he watched Ron and Annabeth direct their pieces over the board. Every couple of seconds his eyes would twitch, darting to one of the still-dark windows and looking at the thunderclouds there. He seemed nervous, and I couldn't blame him for fearing his own uncle, Zeus. No doubt Percy thought the Olympian would strike him out of the sky with a single bolt of lightning for interfering in his domain.

I sat down as Ron greeted me — without looking up from the chess board — and said, "You do remember that we have a Quidditch match today?"

Percy mumbled something incoherent.

"Yes, of course." Ron turned a bit green at just the mention, but quickly recovered. "Annabeth just challenged me to a game last night, but it was too late, so we're doing it now. Aha! Got your queen!" Ron exclaimed, directing his black knight to crumple Annabeth's white queen figure.

For a moment, Annabeth seemed dismayed, but then she smiled rather evilly. "Bishop to A6," she said. The white bishop moved. " _Checkmate."_

The black king, much to Ron's dismay, toppled over and handed the crown to Annabeth's own. Ron's mouth was hanging open, and Annabeth laughed.

"Don't forget, Ron. If you become too ambitious and let your ego take over, you'll lose sight of the bigger picture," she suggested, pointing at the chessboard.

Ron's mouth shut, turning into a scowl. He turned to me. "Now then, Harry, how about let's go get some breakfast?"

We did, after fully waking Percy and changing into our under-Quidditch robes. Even though it was very early, the Great Hall was already full of people talking excitedly about the coming match by the time we arrived. The Slytherins were all supporting their green-and-silver attire, with banners and flags for their team, but were also wearing what appeared to be crowns and waving at… _Ron?_ I looked away, rolling my eyes. It was probably a show of house blood purity.

The entire Slytherin table jeered as Ron, Percy and I walked by, and a few even braved sending jinxes our way, but we simply ignored them. The raucous noise in the hall was made much louder by a pattering of raindrops on the roof and the gloomy, cloudy sky depicted by the enchanted ceiling.

Hermione and Annabeth arrived around mid-breakfast, accompanied by Ginny, and sat down across from the three of us. Hermione barely had glanced at Ron's still full plate before she said, "Come on, Ron, you've got to eat something!"

"Are you feeling alright?" Ginny asked, her eyes filling with worry.

"Fine, fine," muttered Ron unintelligibly. I turned to see Angelina striding over to us.

"Hey, listen, Jackson. We're going to need you up there the whole match today. Katie got jinxed just last night by a group of Slytherins, and she was sent to the hospital wing. Both she and Madam Pomfrey said that she was fine and okay to play, but I'd rather have a completely coherent team member flying up there." She glanced around the table.

"Um… sure. I'll fill in for her," Percy assured, a little startled by the last-minute change of plans.

Alicia nodded, and I could see the relief spilling over her face. "Great! I'm heading down to the field now. I'll see you in a couple of minutes." She hurried off.

Just then, a dreamy voice floated over to us, and Luna Lovegood sat down by Ron. She was wearing an incredibly large hat, one that was a life-sized lion's head. Luna reached up and tapped her wand on its head, causing the lion to open its mouth and roar mightily. The people sitting near us at the Gryffindor table jumped at the sound.

"It's marvelous, don't you think?" asked Luna dreamily, looking up at her hat. "I wanted to make a snake and enchant it to chew on it, you know, to represent Slytherin, but there wasn't much time. Anyway, good luck to all of you!" She drifted away, and we were left with nothing to do but get up and head down to the Quidditch pitch.

Ron hadn't eaten anything at all. He looked a very vivid shade of green. Percy wasn't as nervous, though his eyes flew to the cloudy ceiling more than once. I simply felt unenergetic, but not tired. It could've been the first time I hadn't been queasy or jumping with nerves at just the mention of a Quidditch match. I had had so much on my mind the past few days that Quidditch was lagging behind somewhere in a corner of my brain.

Everyone in the locker room buzzed with anxiety, especially Angelina, who was dressed before the rest of us and walked around the room, trying to give advice to several members of the team. "Angelina, you've told us a million times to hit the Bludgers as hard as we can. We get the message!" Fred told her irritably, and managed to shake her off as he pulled on his gold-and-scarlet robe.

When she got to me, Angelina leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Try to catch the snitch as soon as possible, Harry. It's not like I don't have faith in our team, but I don't want to risk _too_ much on Weasley."

I knew she meant it, even if it made her feel bad. But I couldn't disagree. Not only had Ron's Keeper skills deteriorated horribly in the past month, but he was looking too green to even attempt to catch a Quaffle at the moment.

We all sat down and listened to the pre-match as the students poured out of the castle and into the stands. There was quite a bit of singing going on, but I was baffled as to what it was. Angelina rounded us up to give us a last-minute pep-talk, and mentioned that the two new Beaters on the Slytherin team were another two idiots like the last: Goyle and Crabbe. I scoffed and tried to hide my laughter, wondering how on _earth_ those two had gotten on the team. Slytherin really must have been desperate after Rachel left her Beater position.

"Percy's filling in for Katie, even though she says she's fine, I don't want to take any chances." Percy looked up, a little nervous, as Angelina continued. "Well, there's signs of a bad storm coming, but if Harry can catch the storm quickly enough, we should be able to evade it. The visibility is great, there's no sunlight to block our view. Also, there's thankfully not much wind."

Everyone except Ron listened and nodded appreciatively. "Alright, team! Let's get out there and prove to McGonagall there's a reason she gave us less homework these past few weeks!"

Everyone chuckled. "Oh, and let's not forget to show Slytherin their rightful place," commented Fred eagerly, but Angelina only rolled her eyes.

"Alright, let's get out there. Good luck to everyone." We all mounted our brooms on our shoulders, Ron's movement's seemingly robotic, and marched out onto the Quidditch pitch.

The roar of sound coming from all around us nearly broke my eardrums. Among the whistling and cheering of the spectators, I could also hear the same singing from before — and it was coming directly from the Slytherin team, all of them brandishing their shiny king's crowns on their chests. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

The Slytherin team was also wearing the same silver crown badges. I got a closer look and realized the hats said, _WEASLEY IS OUR KING._ The Captain, Montague, was closely followed by Draco Malfoy (who was sneering once again, especially at Ron and me, now that Rachel wasn't here), Crabbe and Goyle (the two of which were swinging their Beater's bats stupidly), and the three stockily built Slytherin Chasers.

Madam Hooch ordered the captains to shake hands and then all of us to mount the brooms. With the blow of her whistle, we all rushed into the air and the balls were released.

I saw Ron streaking towards the gold hoops, and moved higher, searching for the telltale gold of the Snitch… Lee Jordan began commentating, throwing in a few jokes that nearly gave Professor McGonagall a heart attack.

But as I flew higher, I heard the Slytherins' song more clearly over Lee's projected voice, and soon enough the entire pitch was listening to it, even Jordan:

" _Weasley cannot save a thing,_

 _He cannot block a single ring,_

 _That's why Slytherins all sing:_

 _Weasley is our King._

 _Weasley was born in a bin,_

 _He always lets the Quaffle in,_

 _Weasley will make sure we win,_

 _Weasley is our King."_

Lee Jordan, obviously quite infuriated with the Slytherins' song, began to nearly shout the player's positions on the team to drown out the Slytherin singing. "Jackson's got the Quaffle again, he passes to Angelina — Angelina, come on... and she's got to the goals — SHE SHOOTS — SHE —"

But the Keeper, Bletchley, had saved Angelina's shot, and bounced the Quaffle back to his own team. Meanwhile, the Slytherins' song grew louder, and reached Ron's ears…

I knew that with Slytherin taunting and jeering at Ron, he'd never be able to save a goal; I needed to find the Snitch, and fast…

" _WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN,_

 _HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN_ —"

And there was a scream of disappointment from all around as Ron dove wildly and let the Quaffle through his hands.

" _WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN,_

 _WEASLEY IS OUR KING!"_

I decided to surprise the Slytherins; diving out of the cloud I'd been in, I dropped right in front of their section of the stands. A couple of Slytherins jumped back and screamed at my sudden move, but most of them kept chanting. As I passed them, I saw a head of bright red hair that stood out from all the purebloods. Rachel was sitting down, obviously disappointed with her house, and reading a book rather than joining in the chant.

Ron let in four more goals. It was fifty-nil.

I kept moving, my eyes searching, searching, roving the field for a tiny speck of gold, _anywhere…_

 _There._

I'd seen it, and I was positive it was the Snitch: it was hovering right next to the ground below the Gryffindor team's hoops.

I only had to hope Malfoy hadn't seen it yet; I dived, lunging straight for it from an altitude of over a hundred feet. Malfoy was instantly on my tail, but his broom wasn't as fast as my Firebolt. I reached out with my hand. _Almost there…_

And then there was a loud scream from the crowd, and I pulled up just before hitting the ground. In my dive, I'd almost lost track of how close I'd been to crashing…

Malfoy, having been less fortunate, skimmed the ground with both of his legs and screamed in pain. He had luckily avoided a crash, but both of his knees were now badly bloodied from a burn.

I turned to the crowd and realized that I was only half of the reason the crowd had roared: Percy had just scored a goal, and looked well on his way to scoring another. "— Jackson's got the Quaffle again, passes to Angelina, who passes to Alicia… another pass back to Jackson — ouch," Lee said, flinching as an audible crack resounded from a Bludger hitting the back of Alicia's broom, "—she seems to be fine, thank God, and the ball's back to Jackson, who spins, he shoots — HE SCORES AGAIN! Fifty to twenty for Slytherin!" The crowd roared, drowning out the green section's singing for a while…

"And it looks like Malfoy's seen the Snitch! Rather nasty fall he had back there — though he deserved it —"

"MR. JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor, just a joke — yes, he's definitely seen it, and now Potter's on his tail —"

As soon as Lee had made the announcement, I'd looked up to see Malfoy racing after a glint of gold in the clouds. I shot straight up after him, willing my broom to move faster and faster —

Suddenly, there was a loud _CRACK,_ but not from a Bludger. The cloud I'd just moved to had issued a large bolt of lightning that hit the bottom of the pitch and left the crowd yelling.

I turned back, my hand still outstretched, and flew straight into the ominously dark cloud. I couldn't see anything but cloud around me — but there was suddenly a silhouette rushing in my direction. I squinted as the silhouette grew larger, but it was too late to turn around my broom and fly away.

A glint of gold flashed in my eyes, and my hand snapped out automatically. But before I could catch the Snitch, the silhouette — now distinguishable as Draco Malfoy — crashed full-speed into me.

I groaned from the impact, but was thankful he hadn't hit me in the head. However, Draco seemed to be unconscious — he'd crashed right into my shoulder and had blood running down the side of his face. His broom was gone, and he promptly fell off of me and back down to earth.

I knew I needed to catch him, and tried to regain control of my broom. However, it seemed that Malfoy had knocked off the end of its polished handle and a chunk of twigs. I hopelessly spiraled downwards on my broom, unable to control it, and soon I was flying out of the dark cloud and down to the pitch hundreds of feet below…

My right hand was grasped tightly around something golden and small. The Snitch!

I desperately reached for my wand, only to find I couldn't reach it. Suddenly, there was a horrible crack and black filled the edges of my vision as a Bludger hit me right in the small of my back. I fell off of the wild broom, my hand still desperately clutched around the Snitch, as another flash of lightning hit way too close to me.

And suddenly, I wasn't falling anymore. Someone had caught me — Fred. He led his broom carefully down to the ground.

"Are you alright, Harry?!" he yelled at me worriedly.

I sat up and coughed, feeling the dull ache in my shoulder where Malfoy had hit me. I groaned. "Fine. Just… give me a second." I opened my hand, letting the Snitch fall out of it.

"HARRY POTTER HAS JUST CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" I heard Lee Jordan shout, and then the rest of the players dove back down to the ground as I held up the small ball.

"Where's Malfoy?" I suddenly asked, remembering. "He fell off of his broom after crashing into me!"

Fred shrugged distastefully. "Montague caught him. I think he's still alive."

Madam Hooch and Madam Pomfrey were both by my side instantly, asking if I was alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just my shoulder, a little sore."

Angelina jumped off of her broom and rushed over to hug me, followed by the rest of the Gryffindor team. Ron was last, looking utterly dismayed. "We won," he said emotionlessly.

"Hey, Ron, it's fine. You'll get better. At least you saved one goal," said George, clapping his younger brother's shoulder. Ron didn't say anything, sitting down and placing his head in his hands.

Ginny and Hermione were down from the stands instantly, and both of them hugged and congratulated me. I looked around. "Where's Annabeth?"

Hermione's smile fell. "Harry, remember that last flash of lightning?" I nodded, feeling the dread consuming me. "Well, Percy was just about to score another goal, and then you just fell out of the sky, and right then the lightning struck him. He fell off of his broom and hit the ground rather hard. Annabeth left with him, Madam Pomfrey, and Professor McGonagall not much later to go to the Hospital Wing. Malfoy was also taken to the infirmary by Snape. He was unconscious." Her face was etched with worry. "What _happened_ up there?"

"I'll explain later. We need to go see if Percy is still —"

But I couldn't bring myself to say it. And the entire run up to the infirmary, I couldn't help but think how cruel the Greek gods could be.

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 **A/N: Please review with thoughts, criticism, and comments!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hello again... enjoy and review!**

 **POVs: Harry, Hermione**

 _Disclaimer: I'm not creative enough to own either series… :(_

* * *

Chapter 23

Halfway up the staircase to the Hospital wing, a sudden sharp pain in my right arm made me stop. I clutched the limb in my other arm and hastily caught up to the rest of the group so that they wouldn't get suspicious.

Madam Pomfrey was too weak to shoo us all out of the Hospital wing; we were a force as we all entered to check on Percy. Finally, Pomfrey realized it was no use to try and persuade us away, and she instead showed us to his bed. Annabeth was sitting next to him in a chair, her head hung down and her face streaked with silent tears as she held his hand steadfastly.

Hermione sat down next to her. "What did Madam Pomfrey say?"

Annabeth barely tilted her head up to acknowledge she'd heard Hermione. "She's never dealt with a student struck by lightning. But she's dealing with it as quickly and effectively as she can."

Percy looked horrible. Parts of his hair were fried and had been singed off. His face was covered with streaks of ash and angry welts where the electricity had burned him. The quilt of the bed was raised only halfway up his body, revealing badly charred arms and Quidditch robes.

I'd never seen a person who'd been hit by lightning. But now that I did, it was quite horrifying to look at. Why Zeus would ever do that to _anyone_ was beyond me. But anyone was bound to become ambitious and power-hungry after centuries of being the king of gods.

Annabeth spoke again, her voice a raspy whisper. "Unfortunately, Madam Pomfrey can't give her full attention to Percy. Draco was hurt pretty badly when he fell from his broom." She pointed across the room to a bed with white curtains drawn all the way around it. "She said he broke both his arms and could have broken his neck had he not landed in a lucky position." She flinched. "He's still alive, thankfully."

My arm gave another wail of pain, but I drowned it out as fast as I could. Hermione still noticed my wince. "How long will Percy be out?" I asked, trying to distract her thoughts from my wounded arm.

"I don't know. He might be in a coma for a while." Annabeth hung her head again, dropping it onto Percy's mattress and crying again.

Just then, the doors to the Hospital Wing opened and a pink-clad figure walked into the room, a dozen or so Slytherins behind her. All of them were still wearing their "Weasley is our King" badges.

The stout toad-woman I loathed above anyone else marched straight up to me. She walked calmly and smiled sweetly, but her eyes bore the evil anger she possessed. I clutched my left hand unconsciously, covering the scars there.

"Hello, there, Poppy," she said, greeting Madam Pomfrey. The old witch had just run up and opened her mouth, probably to tell off Umbridge for bringing so many people into the Hospital Wing. "This is official business of the Hogwarts' High Inquisitor. Namely," she explained, her smile poisonously sweet, "me. I need to have a word with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley." She pointed an evil, crooked finger at me and then Fred.

Pomfrey stood to her full height and looked the witch in the eye. "Well, _Dolores" —_ she said the name with utter contempt — "I can only allow that if you command your little Slytherin gang to leave immediately." My eyes swished over the group, and I saw, to my relief, that Rachel was not there.

"Oh, that won't be a problem. I only need Miss Parkinson." Pansy stepped forward, smiling smugly as her gleaming black hair bounced up and down.

The rest of the Slytherin group left, excepting Montague, who demanded to see Malfoy immediately.

"Mr. Malfoy is not to be seen at the moment," said the medical witch coldly.

"But all of Jackson's teammates are there with him! And some aren't even on the Gryffindor team!" whined the burly Slytherin.

At this, Annabeth stood up and marched over to Montague furiously, her face red and streaked with the trails of dried tears. "I'm here because, unlike you, I care more about Percy than just making sure he's up for the next match! All you want to know is if your Seeker is fit enough to stay on the team. He's broken several bones and does _not_ want to see a disgustingly prejudiced slimeball like you! Now _get out before I punch you in the face!_ "

Montague, who looked like he actually _had_ been punched in the face, turned around and scurried out of the Hospital Wing like a scared mouse.

Umbridge looked at Annabeth with a look of disappointment. "Ms. Chase, you have been an exceptionally obedient student in my classes all year. Because I appreciate your respect for me and your work ethics, and I understand how much you care for Mr. Jackson, I will only take ten points from Gryffindor. If I hear of or see another outburst like this one, please _do_ know that you'll be facing detention."

Annabeth's face fell, and she turned back to Percy, wiping another round of tears from her face.

I was stunned, as was everyone else besides Annabeth. Umbridge had acted _warmly_ to her, not just fakely sweet. Had that been anyone besides her, we would be facing detention with blood quills. How had she managed to get on Umbridge's side so well? And as a _Gryffindor_ , no less?

My arm gave a horrible twitch, trying to fend off the blinding pain. " _Owww!_ " I shouted. Madam Pomfrey rushed over to me, and I let her inspect my arm without complaint.

She made a disgusted noise. "Mr. Potter, you should have come to me earlier! Your arm has been slightly sprained, and would have been less painful if I had fixed it immediately." She pulled out her wand, pointed it at my arm (which she held firmly so I couldn't tug it away), and muttered a spell under her breath. Instantly, the pain was gone, even though my arm was still slightly bent at a strange angle.

Umbridge turned to Fred and I. "Come along. We have a sudden turn of events to discuss."

Pomfrey opened her mouth. "Not a chance, Dolores. Potter is injured and it is _my_ duty to make sure he is healed!"

"Very well, then, Poppy. Get along with your sprain-fixing spell." Pomfrey, looking very angry indeed, muttered another spell at my arm, which righted itself. A couple more spells and all of the bruises were gone from my arms and legs.

Then Umbridge grabbed me and Fred by the arms and we left, Pansy trailing behind us.

When we reached her hideously pink office, Umbridge finally let us go. I began to get scared — had she somehow found out about Dumbledore's Army?

But that wasn't the case.

"Mr. Potter, I am extremely disappointed in you. You and Mr. Weasley caused Mr. Malfoy to fall and almost get killed. I therefore must follow standard procedures and suspend you from the Quidditch team."

" _WHAT?!"_ Fred yelled instantly, mimicking my own thoughts.

"Miss Parkinson informed me that she saw what you were doing up in that cloud with Mr. Malfoy during the match. She said that you caught the Snitch and _purposefully_ rammed into Mr. Malfoy, throwing him off of his broom. To make this seem an accident, you fell off your broom. Madam Hooch was unable to see this, as Mr. Jackson was immediately struck by lightning after that. Then, she reported that Mr. Weasley hit Mr. Malfoy as he was falling, and proceeded to catch you."

Pansy Parkinson looked so smug at her tall tale, I wanted nothing more to punch her and leave her nose crooked for life.

"That's a _lie!_ That's not what happened!" Fred roared angrily.

"Well, if you insist that it didn't, I see no other choice than to suspend your twin brother from the team as well. You may go, now, Pansy." The girl left, and I swore to myself to get back at her.

"No, Professor, he's right, that's not what actually happened." Umbridge's eyes narrowed at my attempt to be calm.

"Well, Mr. Potter, what _actually happened_ then?" I told her everything I knew, staying as calm as possible. I willed Fred to not interrupt me, because it would just get us into more trouble. When I was done, Umbridge looked skeptical as ever. "Well, Mr. Potter, I appreciate your attempt to be civil towards me in your story. However, I find more reason to believe Ms. Parkinson than you. You are now both suspended from the Quidditch team."

Angry as I was, I managed to pull Fred out of there before Umbridge could add more punishments as a result of his angry outburst.

"That… that…" He swore very loudly. Peeves, who had been overhearing, zoomed down the hallway and dropped a bottle of ink on Fred's head.

"Naughty little Weasley, aren't you? Saying things like that all the time?"

"PEEVES! GET OUT OF HERE OR I SWEAR TO GODRIC GRYFFINDOR I WILL LOOSE THE BLOODY BARON AND MCGONAGALL ON YOU!" Fred yelled, angrier than I had ever seen him. Peeves zoomed away, making rude noises and sticking his tongue out.

Fred, who was covered in black ink from the bottle, didn't even try to remove the stains from himself. "Well, at least now we have time to work on the D.A. Who does she even think she is?"

I stayed quiet and let him rant all the way back up to the common room.

* * *

Harry and Fred walked in through the portrait hole at the same time. George immediately saw his twin covered in black ink and started laughing. Fred, who I now saw was not smiling, but looked really angry, actually marched up to his brother and slapped him across the face.

I had _never,_ not _ever_ seen the Weasley twins slap each other, or anyone for that matter.

George stopped laughing. "What was that for?" Fred's expression was not happy as he explained in quiet whispers. At one point, George let out a long string of expletives, hurting my ears.

Harry marched over to us, similarly furious, and Ron immediately demanded he explain what had just happened to cause _Fred_ to slap _George_ across the face.

Harry explained in a low voice. "Umbridge thinks I knocked Malfoy off of his broom on purpose, and that Fred later bumped him even harder while he was falling. She suspended us both from the Quidditch team." Umbridge was having way too much fun around here.

"But Harry, you fell too!" I exclaimed angrily as Ron gasped and said, "What bastard gave her _that_ information?"

"I know, but she thinks I did it to make it seem like an accident. I didn't even _see_ Malfoy in the cloud until he crashed into me!"

"It was Pansy, wasn't it?" said Ron bitterly. Harry nodded, and Ron let out a muttered curse.

I was furious. "Of course, she'd always listen to a Slytherin, but never to a Gryffindor."

Harry responded quietly. "Well, maybe she would."

I immediately knew what he was talking about. "No, Harry. I know that Annabeth and Percy are firmly on her good side, but if Annabeth went there supporting us and gave Umbridge the truth, she'd lose the toad's trust. We need someone who has that."

"Hermione, Fred and I just got kicked off the Gryffindor Quidditch team for absolutely no reason! Angelina will kill us! We can't let her have whatever she wants!" Harry stood up, kicking away his chair.

"Harry," I reasoned, "we're already breaking enough of her rules with the D.A. Which, by the way, is supposed to meet within an hour."

Harry shot me a cold glare. "You do know that it was really stupid to make the first meeting today, right after a _Quidditch Match_?"

I glared right back at him. "We need to go through with it, even if Percy and Annabeth won't be there. I'll try to get Annabeth to come, but it's happening either way."

Harry sighed and sat back down in defeat, and I knew that I'd finally won. Ron had paid no attention to our conversation, still too infatuated with ideas on how to get Umbridge to pay for this.

But for the moment, I'd won.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N:** **I know the last chapter was a bit dull, but I had to put it in there. It's necessary to the story, and it's also a canon part I wanted to include. Sorry. But hopefully this chapter will fulfill your expectations.**

 **Finally, I understand the prophecy is very long, but it should only be a couple more verses. And all of it will be delivered this year.**

 **POVs: Hermione**

 _Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own anything, and neither do you._

* * *

Chapter 24

After much persuasion and a little bit of blackmail, Annabeth had finally agreed to come to the first D.A. meeting. She and I were both sitting in the common room, killing the hour we had left until we had to go.

Well, Annabeth was studying for her Transfiguration exam on Monday. _I_ was killing time.

And to do so, I was looking at one specific piece of parchment and reading it over and over again, trying to make some — _any_ , really — sense of the words in front of me. Annabeth glanced over once in a while and sighed, her quill scribbling down thetas and deltas and epsilons so fast it could have had a mind of its own.

I read over the prophecy again — at least what we had of it. Rachel was no doubt due to give another continuation again. I had carefully written down every word of the prophecy we'd received every time. Percy and Annabeth both had told me numerous times that no one _ever_ made any sense of prophecies until they had been fulfilled. I was determined to do otherwise. There had to be some answers in there.

 _The boy of green eyes, son of the Sea_

 _Shall help protect the wand-wielding three,_

 _The girl of gray eyes, daughter of the Wise,_

 _Shall help defeat an enemy that cannot die_

 _In a world not mortal, but entirely weird,_

 _Led there by the man with the silver beard._

 _The bearded man will help with the quest,_

 _As the five come together to defeat worst and best_

 _They will all suffer, succeed, prevent, prevail,_

 _And throw evil into the worst of jails_

 _But a word of caution, they must beware_

 _They can't return unless they dare_

 _To take the girl who was once their friend;_

 _Otherwise, their world will never see them again._

 _Pale blond and raven black_

 _Can't ever choose to remain back_

 _They must stand and fight together_

 _Or be defeated by a magic feather._

 _They'll find a prophecy meant for one_

 _And understand the end has begun;_

 _He'll take the form of one he fears_

 _He'll teach it to some of his peers_

 _The one with blond with understand_

 _And will experience it firsthand._

 _Blond…_ I thought to myself. Well, there was currently only one person here with blond hair — and that was Annabeth. No, there were two, if you counted Draco Malfoy. But _honestly_ , who counted Malfoy?

So Annabeth, then. Annabeth would experience something firsthand. Who was _he_? And what in Merlin did " _he'll take the form of one he fears_ " mean?

And what was meant by " _their world will never see them again_ "? Would they be stuck as wizards forever? And who was Annabeth and Percy's once-friend?

Well, it was too late for that part of the prophecy. Annabeth and Percy were already here, and they had brought no one but Rachel. Who, I might add, was already their friend, not their once-friend.

It seemed that Percy and Annabeth were already doomed to spend the rest of their lives as wizards.

Frustrated, I stared harder at the parchment. Why did the Oracle have to refer to people by their hair color or eye color or just as pronouns? Percy and Harry shared both hair and eye color. Rachel and Ron were the same. Annabeth and Malfoy were both blond and gray-eyed (and possibly related. The idea just gave me a headache)!

It seemed I was the odd one out. Oh, well. At least I'd be sure of it if the prophecy mentioned me.

Then there was the " _prophecy meant for one_ " part. Another prophecy, it seemed, would be occurring, but I doubted it would come from Rachel. It mentioned that we'd _find_ a prophecy meant for one, not receive one as we had from the Oracle.

I wasn't sure I could deal with _another_ prophecy of this length. Annabeth and Percy had reassured me this was the longest one they'd ever received, but who was to say there'd be no more?

I groaned loudly. "Why does this have to be so… _complicated?!"_

Annabeth looked over at me, as did several other people. "Well, well, it seems Miss smart Granger can't figure out an Arithmancy problem," said George, chuckling. "That's why you don't take that class."

Annabeth giggled, then whispered to me, "I told you there's no unraveling the Oracle's prophecies, Hermione. It just tries to make our lives confusing."

I sighed before packing up my parchment and quill in my bag. "We should be going," I told her.

And indeed we did. The two of us walked out, soon to be followed by the rest of the Gryffindors in Dumbledore's Army.

Annabeth checked her coin frequently, anxious to see if anything had changed. Of course, nothing did: Harry was the only one besides me who could change it. This meeting had to happen, and without Annabeth, we couldn't start on the physical training that would be important later on.

Sooner than we realized, we were in the Room of Requirement. Harry was already in there, looking at something on the wall; there were only a handful of people in there already, including Ginny and Cho with her very upset and bored-looking friend. Ron was surveying the area with an aura of awe around him.

Annabeth went over to speak with Ginny while I rushed over to the bookcases on the far wall. There were, inexplicably, many different books on Defense Against the Dark Arts. _A Compendium of Common Curses and Their Counter-Actions, The Dark Arts Outsmarted, Self-Defensive Spellwork, Jinxes for the Jinxed_ and dozens of other dusty old leather-bound books lined the shelves, many on the verge of toppling over and creating a domino effect.

I was still inspecting the shelves as people trickled in by the twos and threes. Ginny and Neville, Lavender Brown, Luna, Dean and Seamus, Parvati and Padma Patil. Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and several Hufflepuffs also arrived. But no matter how many people entered, the Room of Requirement simply kept expanding into oblivion to accommodate every person. Every time someone new walked through the door, Harry and Annabeth helped to explain the room and its magical properties.

Finally, when everyone had arrived and all the cushions had been taken over, (excepting Draco, Percy, and Rachel), Harry spoke shakily. "Well, this is the first… erm, _official_ meeting for Dumbledore's Army. I hope you like this place alright—"

"I seem to recall hiding in this room a couple years ago, away from Filch" interrupted Fred, thinking hard and looking at his twin. "But it wasn't this big…"

"Not even close," laughed George. "It was a broom closet then, remember, Freddie?"

Fred agreed, laughing, before Harry spoke again.

"Well, anyway — we'll be teaching ourselves Defense, because that hag of a witch Umbridge won't teach us herself — and Annabeth and Percy will be teaching the basics of physical defense."

"Why?" asked Finch-Fletchley rudely.

Angry, Harry spit back an answer. "Because I doubt even Voldemort is much without his wand." The reaction to his words and You-Know-Who's name was very predictable, though less than it had been before. Several people blanched, Neville fell on his face, and a couple of girls including Lavender Brown and one of the Patils shrieked; the only one seemingly unaffected was Luna, but that could have been because she was staring at the dank ceiling of the Room of Requirement (probably trying to spot Nargles or something of the sort).

"Right, well, I thought we should start with Disarming Charms," said Harry. "They're really very basic but useful too—"

He was interrupted by Zacharias Smith this time. "Oh, _please,_ " he said, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. "I don't think _Expelliarmus_ is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"

To which Harry replied, rather quietly, "I've used it against him. It saved my life last June."

There were no more interruptions after that. "Okay. So, I think this half of the room—" he gestured at his left side "— will start with Disarming Spells. The other half will start with Annabeth and physical defense. We can switch in, say, half an hour?"

The room split into two halves, me on the left side, and I paired up with Ron to start with spell-practice. After the first go (where my _Expelliarmus_ hit him so hard he flew five feet into the air and smashed into Angelina), I went easier on him so he could get in a few good shots.

It was after about twenty minutes that the door creaked open loudly, causing the yells of " _Expelliarmus!"_ to subside quickly. I couldn't believe it; had Umbridge found us out so quickly? I rushed over to my book bag and pulled out the piece of paper with all the member's names on it, but all the names remained clear and uncrossed. Which meant that either Umbridge had found us by pure dumb luck, or she'd sent out her Slytherin cronies to spy on us and find out what we were doing.

Indeed, the person who walked into the Room of Requirement was a Slytherin, but it was not a spy.

Rachel had arrived to the meeting, quite late and looking very pale and slightly green. Annabeth was already running over to her.

Another person entered the room behind Rachel, his arm bandaged and in a white sling over his shoulder. The top of his head was wrapped in white bandages and he walked with a very distinguished limp, but at least he was alive after falling so far. His white-blond hair, usually slicked back so perfectly, was falling in his eyes and down over his ears — which startled me.

Malfoy walked over to Annabeth, giving her a friendly nod and whispering something to her. The entire room was watching, but Harry soon yelled to get back to practicing and there was a bustle to pick up dropped wands. Before long, the room was filled with shouts of spells and jinxes once again. I rushed over to Rachel, who still appeared green.

Thankfully, it wasn't a magical aura green. She simply looked… pale and nauseated. I gave a sigh of relief; if she had given a prophecy right there and then, we'd all be in big trouble.

"What happened?" Harry demanded, having rushed over as well. "You didn't —" he looked at Rachel worriedly, but she shook her head. Malfoy didn't miss the question, and looked between Rachel and Harry suspiciously (a look of loathing on his face when he glanced at the latter).

"Well played game, Potter," he said disgustedly. "I suppose you were _trying_ to knock me out of the sky."

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but thought better of it. Malfoy would not be inclined to believe the truth Harry had to offer after falling three hundred feet out of the air. I suddenly recalled how his Captain had caught him, no matter how harshly, in midair. At least he hadn't hit the ground like Percy had.

I flinched at the memory.

"Well, Draco woke up and said there was no way in Salazar that he was missing the first meeting," Rachel said briefly, still greenish.

I looked the pureblood up and down, inspecting his wounds with my eyes, and Malfoy didn't miss it. "What, _Granger_?" he sneered unapologetically, being the rudest he had towards me in months.

I didn't shy away, though. I looked in his eyes, eyebrows raised. "Well, _Malfoy_ , I don't think you'll be able to do too much with your right arm in a sling. If I recall correctly, that's your wand arm. And I _certainly_ don't think you're up to physical defense like that."

The strangest thing happened. Malfoy turned away, muttering something about crazy cat witches (excuse me?) under his breath irritably, but the tips of his pale ears were visibly pink under his hair and bandages. "I can still _watch_ and learn, Granger. It'd be better than missing."

And without another word, he strode off to sulk in some dark corner. Rachel apologized quickly before hurrying after him.

Soon, I'd switched from spell practice to physical combat with Annabeth. She looked positively murderous while attacking a dummy with her bronze dagger, slashing it into ribbons before it magically reformed itself, then turned to us and watched us practice with wooden swords and our own fists.

I struggled like I had never before in a class (well, perhaps excepting flying classes in first year). I couldn't even get a little bit of stuffing out of the dummy, and though Annabeth tried to show me the right ways to swing the sword and punch, it kept falling out of my hands.

She was a natural, a force of nature with her own. I would never match that; I was too much brains, fighting with knowledge instead of weapons.

She looked closely at me as I tried to attack the dummy time and time again. Finally, when my arms were getting sore and my knuckles bruised, she pulled me aside. "Hermione, you have the same problem I used to have. Lots of people fight with swords and fists, but a few are better with daggers and knives."

No sooner had she said this, a gleaming silver dagger appeared on the nearest table.

Annabeth was wrong again. Though I was little bit better with a dagger than I had been with a sword, I still utterly _failed_ at physical combat.

I walked away from the activity after an hour, sore and very much dismayed.

Thankfully, my spirits were raised when I went back to spell practice and magical duelling. This time, I was facing off Harry, and I felt a bit nervous. Who wouldn't be, when practicing against the Boy Who Lived? But I concentrated, and poured all of the resentment I'd gotten from failing at physical fighting into my spells. Harry got hit twice; once by a Jellylegs Jinx, and the second by a Tickling Charm.

He laughed, rolling on the floor with tickles, and I did nothing, disliking the idea of hitting him with another curse while he was so unprotected. However, that soon proved to be a mistake, because Harry raised himself to his knees, still panting with giggles, and pointed his wand in my direction. " _Expelliarmus_ ," he managed through his chuckles.

The spell should have hit me straight in the chest, but it didn't. I whirled around to see who had sent a Shielding Charm my way. My eyes landed on a pale, white-blonde figure who was sitting in a blue armchair with his body turned away from me. I saw a smile tug on his lips from the side, and noticed the wand in his right hand, slightly concealed in a sling but pointing in my direction nevertheless.

Perhaps the haughty pureblood Slytherin wasn't all that evil.

* * *

 **A/N: There will be a rocky road to love.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: From now on,** **I'm trying to stick to one POV per chapter. This chapter is set a couple of weeks after the last one. REMEMBER: Percy has never before fallen into Tartarus. The Prophecy of the Seven has not happened!**

 **POVs: Percy**

 _Disclaimer: You know already that I'm not Riordan or Rowling, and I'm certainly not both._

* * *

Chapter 25

Everything was dark; so dark I feared I was in Tartarus. And in my dream, I indeed was.

It was a fiery hell. Burning, no water to save me in this desolate pit, no relief from the eternal fire that licked at my skin.

I was tied to a post. One moment, I had been falling out of the sky, and the last thing I had seen was a flash of light that could have singed my eyes out of their sockets. I had fallen, fallen while the flames burned to my core, and even when I knew I had hit the ground, I was still falling.

Into Tartarus. Just my luck.

At the beginning, I'd known it was a dream, that I wasn't really in Tartarus, but then things changed. Days passed in the pit; weeks passed. Not that I knew, of course, because there was only eternal night in Tartarus. And as the months of me being tied to an inescapable post that eternally crackled like a pyre passed by, my reassurance that I was only in a dream faded.

I didn't sleep at all in this state. All I knew was the fire singing my back as the hours passed away. There was no one else; just a horizon of faint red light and blackness everywhere. No one else until the snake slithered along and spit venom into my wounds.

It was the same evil venomous constrictor from before, and this time it slithered right up to me, whispering " _Murderer"_ over and over again. It coiled itself around me tightly, enough for me to lose my breath but not pass out, and then leaned into my back before digging its fangs into my freshly burned skin. The poison hurt like nothing else had before; the snake dragged its fangs down my back, ripping through skin and flesh and leaving scars everywhere. But even long after the snake slithered off again, the scars did not heal. The fire burned on.

I didn't know how much time had passed when the fire finally began to burn itself out. And when it did, I began to long for its presence; because the absence of the fire caused a stinging pain in my back.

After weeks of a dying fire, it was finally all gone, and my hands were freed while I was submerged in an icy, ink black ocean.

I drifted around in the ocean, savoring its coolness on my back and its healing powers on the snake's venom, for a long time, breathing in the inky water. Until, finally, _finally,_ I drifted my way slowly back up to the surface of the ocean, my back burning once again as I was lifted towards the light.

I broke through the surface, and the bliss ignorance of the world that I'd maintained for the past few days was gone. Now, the light of the sun hit me full in the face, my back and shoulders burned with agony, and my legs shook as if made of jelly. My entire body groaned, and I let out a small moan of pain when I lifted my hand to shield my face from the light.

And then, I realized that my eyes weren't even open. There were people bustling around me, but I could barely hear anything; it was like someone had stuffed my ears with cotton.

Careful to not let the sun's brightness blind me, I slowly opened my eyes.

There were, indeed, people bustling around me, but there were far more than I had originally thought. And they were all screaming at me, though the only thing I could hear were muffled sounds.

I reached into my ears to see if there was any cotton there. There wasn't; there was nothing in my ears but a faint ringing noise that was getting louder and more painful by the second.

My eyesight was blurry, and I could barely see the people's faces. However, I _could_ tell that they were all wearing distinctly red-and-gold clothes. And the one nearest my face was the one I first saw properly.

When my eyes had _really_ focused, I could make out her blond curls pulled in a messy braid over her right shoulder, her pale skin and stormy grey eyes. She had tears streaming down her face but was smiling nevertheless.

I tried to use my voice, but all that came out was a very faint croak that I couldn't even hear, and so I reached for her with my hand. Very, very slowly. And she grabbed it gently, as if she knew that it hurt like hell.

Gods, I did _not_ feel like looking in a mirror right now. I must've seemed to have been blasted out of Mt. Helens a hundred times.

Slowly but surely, the ringing in my ears subsided and my eyesight unfogged. I began to hear what all my classmates were yelling at me.

"PERCY!"

"You're _alive_ , mate!"

"You've been out for a while now."

"Seaweed Brain, don't you _dare_ scare me that bad again!"

"Don't worry, Jackson, you're officially off the Quidditch team. No more of getting hit by lightning for you."

A squat old witch who I immediately recognized as Madam Pomfrey rushed over to my bed. She shooed away absolutely everyone except for two people; Harry Potter and Wise Girl.

"Oh my gods, Percy. Swear to me that you will _never_ again get on a broom." She said it indignantly, but her eyes betrayed the worry and relief.

"Trust me, Annabeth," I managed, "It wasn't too much fun for me either. What time is it?"

"Well, you've missed about three weeks of school," stated Harry. "So today is December 13th and it is around 10 in the morning."

I tried to sit up, surprised I'd been out for that long. But when I did so, not only did all my bones ache, but my back stung aggressively, as if I'd actually been bitten by the snake in my dream of Tartarus.

Harry was white as a ghost, and Annabeth didn't look much better as I fell back down onto the pillows. "What?" I croaked, sounding like a toad that had been stepped on.

"Um… Perce —"

"Madam Pomfrey!" Harry called.

The squat old witch hobbled over again. "Mr. Potter, I insist you leave if you're going to be yelli—"

"No, really, Madam. This is really not good. Percy, could you turn onto your side?"

"What are you talking about, Ms. Chase? The boy needs to rest." But I was turning over already, trying to see what Annabeth was talking about.

Madam Pomfrey covered her mouth, her eyes glistening with tears when I'd turned. Annabeth let out a small yell and started crying.

Harry's reaction was the worst of all. He had a look of utter horror on his face, as if he himself had committed a crime.

I turned my head very, very slowly, trying not to disturb the ache there, and realized what was so bad.

The back of my mattress was soaked — not simply stained, but _soaked_ — with my own blood. And it was still seeping out of two very large, prominent puncture marks on my back, surrounded by scars that I knew had been made by the snake in my dream.

Madam Pomfrey whisked Harry and Annabeth away, both of them shell-shocked from what they had seen, then drew the curtains around my bed and told me to strip to my underwear.

I did so, and she came back in. The nurse inspected the wounds for two long minutes before sighing in resignation and terror. "Mr. Jackson, I'm afraid that these are magical wounds, severed into your skin with deep Dark Magic. The only way for them to heal is slowly and without the use of any magic. All I could do was to stop the bleeding."

I looked at her, barely surprised. "Madam Pomfrey, what is written there?"

"Sorry?"

"I want to know what the scars that were carved into my back say. What is written on my back?"

She said nothing, but only proceeded to hand me a mirror to hold and then held a mirror up to my back.

There was only one word there, along with the two puncture marks. I looked up and down the painfully perfect jagged lines running down my lower back before putting the mirror down.

Madam Pomfrey said nothing as she grabbed rolls of bandages and wrapped them around my entire torso, covering the nasty word that was there and the other faint scars there from my battles of years past. She quietly remarked that the bandages could stay as long as was necessary, because they magically clotted blood and always stayed clean.

She told me, quietly, that I was to stay in the hospital wing for three more days, and that I could catch up on everything I'd missed. I sat in bed, unmoving, and thinking only about that one word, the word that screwed my whole life up.

Once news had reached the entire school that I had woken up from a coma, people came to visit me. One by one, sometimes in groups of two or three. Some of them I hadn't known before, and some of them were my best friends.

Annabeth came around every hour to give me my homework and talk with me. I loved her for it.

I told no one about the scars wrapped up in clean bandages. I wasn't ready for that.

Draco Malfoy came to sit with me and stayed for over an hour, talking about utter nonsense and pureblood crap. At the very least he cheered me up. Harry came over a couple of times too, to make sure I was fine and to update me on D.A. business. He said the group was coming along fine, now moving to more complex curses, but that they'd be very glad to have me teaching physical defense.

Ron came too, with Fred and George and Ginny. The twins told me how they'd gotten kicked off the Quidditch team by the evil toad, and how Ginny was now replacing Harry as Seeker, and two idiots who could barely stay on their brooms were now Gryffindor's Beaters.

Hermione came too, with Rachel. It was strange to see the two of them as friends, together, but both were cheery and gave me lots of gifts. Hermione mentioned to me that a friend of theirs' (a half-giant called Hagrid) had returned, though I wasn't too sure what she meant by that. Neville and Angelina, the Creevey brothers, even McGonagall came to see me, remarking that she was glad to see me awake and that I'd better get caught up on all my schoolwork ("Yes, ma'am.").

I spent the three days of bedrest eating Chocolate Frogs, holding Riptide under my pillow, and feeling a lot better. And most importantly, not thinking too much about the word forever engraved in my back.

Finally, on December 16th, Madam Pomfrey let me go early. It was snowing outside; it had been lightly falling for the past two days. I walked into the Great Hall and found it already full of life. When I made my way to the Gryffindor table, I was greeted with a very enthusiastic crowd. People, thankfully, respected the fact I was still aching and wounded and touched me only very lightly. Perhaps the best of these light touches was the kiss Annabeth welcomed me with. Several people wolf-whistled, and my ears turned hot.

She wound her arm around my waist gently, and I was thankful for that. Had she put on too much pressure, the scar would start to sting venomously again.

McGonagall came around with the sign-up sheet for staying over the holidays. I didn't hesitate before signing up, though Annabeth did. "I miss camp," she whispered to me.

"So do I," I whispered back, pushing a loose strand of hair out of her face and cupping her chin. "But we'll be back this summer."

Thinking about the godly world took me back once again to that scar on my back. And I began to think that had I not dipped for a swim in the Styx, I would never have woken up.

But the thing that unsettled me was that the snake's fangs, so unreal and in a dream, had literally carved a word into my skin, a word that was there when I woke up.

A word that proved to me that someone out there — and someone who was _not_ my friend — knew about my indestructibility and possibly the one spot that could end me.

I had promised myself I wouldn't think about the word under the bandages, but the image in Madam Pomfrey's mirror came up anyway.

 _Immortal._

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that just happened...**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N:** **Check out my new Harry/Ginny oneshot if you haven't already - A Candle in the Darkness!**

 **Tell me what you think of Cho/Harry. I'm most likely going to exclude that relationship from my story, but give me your thoughts.**

 **POV: Percy**

 _Disclaimer: The lines taken from OotP are not mine, nor are either series. And, just in case you were wondering, I don't own blue waffles either._

* * *

Chapter 26

It was basically the holiday break by the end of the week. I worked furiously, trying to keep up with all of my classwork while simultaneously catching up with all that I'd missed in the past three weeks. Thankfully, I only had five classes to make up. If I'd had more than that, I'd've been so screwed.

Professor Flitwick was pretty forgiving, and he cut down on most of the essays that I would've done if I'd been not-in-a-coma-state when I missed class. He wanted me to do two of the five essays he'd assigned, and work on all of the new Charms that had been introduced during classes. Professor Sprout didn't mind too much, only giving me notes on the new plant species my class had been learning about the past three weeks (Snargaluff Pods especially) and telling me to write one twenty-four-inch essay on the properties and dangers of handling Snargaluff Pods.

Defense Against the Dark Arts, though bad, could've gone much worse. It turned out that getting on Umbridge's good side early on in the year had _lots_ of benefits; she expressed her condolences for me, although she said I had to make up everything — which wasn't too hard, considering it was just fifteen more chapters of _Defense Theory_ and three essays on the Dark creatures discussed in those chapters (such as Dementors, Inferi, and giants).

More difficult to catch up on were Transfiguration and Potions. McGonagall was helpful in getting me back to all my classes, but when it came to her class she cut me absolutely no slack. We were now studying complex spells on the human body itself, and had been introduced to spells that changed eyebrow colors and shrunk hands. And on top of all that, the spells all needed to be performed non-verbally. Not to mention to six long essays assigned over the past three weeks. I was sure I'd be catching up on Transfiguration for the entire holiday break, something that I was _not_ looking forward to. Simply _wonderful_.

Potions was similar to Transfiguration in the amount of work needed to be done, but a lot of the potions that my class had begun to brew could only be made in the potions classroom. Professor Snape assigned three of the five new potions to me (muttering about how insolent it was that I now had a whole month of schoolwork to catch up on) and told me that I was to come to the dungeon classroom every day during the two-week holiday break until I was done. And the potions he'd given me were not easy: Amortentia, a powerful love potion, an Everlasting Elixir, and Veritaserum, the truth potion. The only good news was that Potions was my easiest class. It seemed I'd be working every day of the holidays.

The Saturday before the holiday weekend was the third Hogsmeade visit. I almost stayed inside the whole day, insisting that I needed to catch up, but both Annabeth and Harry dragged me out by my scarf, telling me I needed to get out or I'd go nuts from being cooped up. I was surprised by Annabeth's behavior; she was usually the one telling me to stay in and do my homework, but I couldn't blame her — she had thought I was dead for three weeks. Hermione was also acting strange. She gave a slight frown when she saw I was coming with them, but said nothing against it.

The Scottish climate had _really_ taken over; although it wasn't windy, snow was falling quickly; dozens of snowflakes all melted together to form enormous globs the size of golf balls, coating us all in white fluff in mere minutes. Hermione and Ginny huddled together next to Ron and Harry while they walked, looking like a moving mountain of black robes and red-gold scarves. I wrapped an arm (much less painfully now) around Annabeth's shoulders, and she shivered despite the multiple layers covering her. I took my hat off and plopped it on her head, to which she responded, "Th-th-thank-ks, P-P-Per-c-cy."

We ended up in the Three Broomsticks, drinking piping-hot Butterbeers and eating warm pastries to fuse off the cold. The globs of snowflakes covering us melted in such close proximity to the roaring fire, leaving us all soaking wet. Ginny found Luna and Neville and went over to talk to them while the rest of us sat down and pulled off about three layers of jackets.

"What happened with Hagrid?" Annabeth asked, knowing that Harry, Hermione and Ron had all gone to visit him yesterday while the two of us stayed in the common room.

"Well, he returned from his "mission for Dumbledore". He was spending a couple of months with the giants in the mountains," said Ron as he picked up a small pumpkin pasty from the tray in front of him and popped it in his mouth.

"He looked awful, didn't he? All covered in bruises from the ordeal," whispered Hermione worriedly. "Anyway, he said that Dumbledore sent him to make sure his 'relatives' won't be joining any Death Eaters anytime soon."

"What do you mean?" I asked, leaning forward and chewing through a buttery Cauldron Cake.

"Well, after Voldemort came back last year, Harry heard he was going to try and get the giants and some other Dark creatures on his side. He first went for the Dementors — not really surprised about that — and now Dumbledore thinks he's going after the giants. Hagrid was supposed to convince them to help the Order, but none of us know how well or badly that went."

"So he's back to teaching?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah," started Harry. "He gave us his first lesson on Tuesday, talking about Thestrals. We've had him all this week, except for Monday."

"Well, he's not all that wonderful at picking out magical creatures to take care of, but I'm glad we have him back. Grubbly-Plank was a bit odd," pointed out Ron as he stuffed three Licorice Wands into his mouth at a time.

"Ron! The unicorns weren't all that bad! Besides, if Hagrid gets sacked by Umbridge (which she'll find a way, no doubt) we'll have to go back to her!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," said the redhead, waving off Hermione's remark. "Let's hope that Umbridge doesn't find out about Hagrid's family. When will the D.A. be meeting again?"

I'd learned from Annabeth that Dumbledore's Army had started working on Patronus Charms, and were moving along quickly. They had met already multiple times without me, but I was sure to be at the next meeting.

"Probably after the holidays. Lots of people are going home anyway. Which reminds me. Are we going to spend Christmas at Grimmauld Place?" Hermione asked, directing her question at Harry.

"I wish we could. Right now, though, the Order is still trying to figure out Sturgis Podmore's arrest — remember early on in the year, when we found out he was in the Department of Mysteries? Anyway, the Burrow's almost empty because everyone is at Grimmauld Place or here, and it's not safe to be out with Death Eaters on the loose." Harry looked genuinely regretful that he wouldn't be seeing Sirius. "I've still got the two-way mirror, so I can contact Sirius that way, but we'll be staying here for the holidays."

Hermione and Annabeth managed to cheer up the mood by reminding everyone that we could spend the holidays together and we all left soon after that, dragging our feet through the layers of snow to get to the candy shop.

All in all, I was glad that Annabeth and Harry had dragged me out of the castle. It wasn't much of a break, but it was nice to take my mind off of the mountains of make-up work I still had to do. Nevertheless, I went back to it immediately after eating dinner, a steaming kidney pie and mashed potatoes with a small portion of rich, still-warm chocolate cake.

* * *

I was half-asleep, working on my homework (in bed, it was more comfortable here than on a common room couch), when Harry started breathing really hard. His curtains were only half-closed (he'd managed to control his Animagi self), and I could see him tossing and turning horribly from a nightmare.

Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he sat up, sweating heavily and looking really sick. "Mr. Weasley… Ron. RON!" Harry fell out of bed and hastily made his way over to Ron, who was still sleeping. Before he got there, though, he doubled over and threw up all over the floor.

I clambered out of my own covers, not even bothering to stopper the ink bottle before rushing over. Harry, though, was already up and shaking Ron. "Ron, wake up! It's your dad, I saw your dad, he got attacked…" I picked up my wand and muttered a slurred _Evanesco_ to wipe Harry's vomit from the carpet.

Ron, having only half-opened his eyes, muttered, "It's only a dream, Harry…"

"What's happening?" I shouted loudly, waking up Neville, Seamus, and Dean, but Harry ignored me.

"No, Ron! Your dad! Heʹs been bitten, itʹs serious, there was blood everywhere…"

"Harry, mate, you… you were just dreaming…"

"No! It wasn't a dream… not an ordinary dream… I was there, I saw it… I did it!"

At this, Ron finally snapped awake. "What d'you mean, you did it?"

Harry, looking drowned in guilt, tugged Ron out of his bed and handed him his shirt before saying frantically, "We've got to go get McGonagall and see Dumbledore!"

And he tugged Ron out of the dormitory, leaving us, bewildered, behind. Seamus, Dean, and Neville, who were all now more or less awake, noted that I was standing there, staring open-mouthed at the door.

"What happened, mate? Where'd Harry and Ron rush off to?" Seamus asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I-I don't know. I think they went to see Dumbledore?" But I couldn't follow them — if Harry had wanted me to, he would've asked me to come with. So I shut the door again and clambered back into bed.

By the time I had done enough wondering about what had just happened, I was too sleepy to continue with my second Transfiguration essay (a shame, too — It'd been going so well until Harry woke up), so I blew on the ink to dry it and rolled it up before tucking it away with my ruffled feather and its ink bottle.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to find that Ron and Harry were still gone. Seamus was packing, getting ready to leave for home on the Hogwarts Express, as were Neville and Dean. I rushed down to breakfast, wondering if they were in the Great Hall already, but there was no sign of them. I resigned myself to eating a warm breakfast of coffee cake and fruit until Hermione and Annabeth arrived.

"Have you seen Ginny? She wasn't in the common room when we woke up," Hermione asked me as she sat down and helped herself to a small portion of cinnamon toast.

"No. Harry woke up last night around two in the morning from a really bad nightmare. He grabbed Ron and flew out of the dormitory to get McGonagall." I evaded the vomiting incident. "He said something about Mr. Weasley being attacked… I'm not sure…"

At that precise moment, a very old gray owl I didn't recognize flew down and landed on the toffees. Hermione screamed, "Errol!" and snatched the letter out of his beak before shooing the owl away.

"Who?" Annabeth asked, looking as confused as I felt.

"Errol! He's the Weasleys' owl." Said owl took flight, carrying with it a couple of pieces of cake. Hermione ripped open the letter furiously and read it.

" _Dear Percy, Annabeth, and Hermione,_

 _Dad's been attacked at the Ministry. He was on guard duty last night and was attacked by a very large snake."_ Hermione gulped, and I urged her to go on, feeling sick to my stomach as I remembered Harry's words from the night before: " _I did it."_

" _He lost a lot of blood and was badly poisoned from the bites, and also got a broken rib, but otherwise he'll survive. He's been put in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and has to take Blood-Replenishing potions every few hours. We're really lucky Harry saw my dad getting attacked in his dream, or he might've died last night. We're to go visit him today, but we're staying at Grimmauld Place for now. Mum's already with him; Bill and Charlie came to see him, and Fred, George, Ginny and I were all taken out of Hogwarts, but we'll be back tomorrow._

" — _Ron."_

Hermione, Annabeth and I spent the day in Gryffindor Common Room and walking around the castle aimlessly. Hermione managed to create a rock on which she tirelessly performed spells — changing it to a toad and then to a canary, levitating it and attacking it with Defense spells. I worked on my homework, which I had managed to diminish to only three essays for McGonagall, practice on spells and charms, and of course the potions I was brewing in Snape's dungeon.

The students who were going home for the holidays all left the castle for the Hogwarts Express at ten in the morning, leaving a select group behind: Annabeth, Hermione, me, Angelina and Parvati Patil from Gryffindor, fifteen Hufflepuffs including Hannah Abbott and Justin Finch-Fletchley, ten Ravenclaws (Terry Boot, Luna Lovegood, Padma Patil, and Cho Chang among them), and only two Slytherins: Malfoy and Rachel. I highly suspected that Malfoy had stayed only because Rachel had nowhere else to go, but I was grateful that the rest of Umbridge's so-called "Inquisitorial Squad" had left for the holidays. Umbridge herself didn't stay for the holidays, claiming that the Ministry needed her at the moment.

By lunchtime, the Great Hall had been transformed into a celebratory place, as had the rest of the castle. Holly wreaths and berries lined the corridors, magical floating lights wandered around the castle, and sprigs of black mistletoe popped out of the ceiling over random pairs of students who had just passed each other in the hallways at the wrong time. The mistletoe was not selective in the least, popping out over a large range of people, and a sticking charm prevented those caught under it from leaving until they'd kissed. It was certainly awkward when I walked around a corner to find Professor Snape and Professor Sprout both stuck under the mistletoe, glaring at each other and both bright red. I turned around and walked the other direction, trying to wipe that memory from my brain.

The Great Hall was lined with twelve enormous Christmas trees (courtesy of Hagrid), all of them covered with spinning, talking ornaments and candles that smelled of peppermint. Golden light was visible all around the hall as snow fell lightly from the ceiling. It was perhaps the cheeriest Christmas setting possible, and I couldn't wait until Christmas actually came around in two days.

In the dungeons, I worked on my Veritaserum potion for two hours (with Snape, still red from the day's previous events, watching me) before reaching a point where I had to let it simmer on low heat for seventeen. I placed a timing spell on the cauldron, put the potion away, still simmering, and told Professor Snape that I'd be back in seventeen hours — tomorrow at ten in the morning.

The rest of the day went on uneventfully, and it was as I was walking back to Gryffindor Tower, studying the elements of transfiguring a human jaw that a boy ran up to me, panting, and scared me out of my wits.

Malfoy had run up behind me and hit my back quite hard, causing a stinging pain to flash up and down the unhealing scars there. I cringed, my back tensing up immediately, and dropped my book on my toe.

"OW!" I yelled loudly, because the sting of the scars was _nothing_ compared to stubbing my toe.

"Oh, goddamit! Percy! Rachel — spewing out green fog — prophecy —"

"WHAT?" I yelled, still clutching my throbbing toe. Rachel was spewing out green fog? There was no doubt that it was another prophecy. Through the pain of my toe, I felt surprise. The last time she'd given a prophecy was in October, when Dumbledore had told Ron, Harry, and Hermione our full story. Everyone, excluding maybe Hermione (who'd worked furiously at trying to figure out the prophecy, Annabeth had told me), thought that Rachel was done with her little Oracle moments. Apparently not.

Hobbling, I followed Draco down several flights of cold marble steps, to the dungeon where the Slytherin Common Room was located. He stopped in front of a brick wall, murmuring the password so I couldn't hear it, and rushed in when the wall formed a door.

I stepped in the Slytherin common room and was immediately creeped out. The windows on the far wall let an eerie green light flood in, and my suspicion that we were in the Black Lake was proved as a fish-tailed merperson flashed by the window, screeching evilly and holding a trident. If those were Poseidon's children, I'd rather die than meet my stepbrothers and stepsisters. That was not what a mermaid was supposed to look like.

The Slytherin common room had a blazing fire keeping the room lit and warm, while dim emerald-green lamps swung from the ceiling over rich mahogany chairs and tables. The room was deserted besides Draco, me, and a red-haired girl lying seemingly passed out on the floor.

I watched as Draco rushed over to her and helped her up. "Rachel? What happened?" I asked.

"She just gave another prophecy. Or another part of the first one," said Draco, panting again. Rachel was still looking greenish.

"What did she say? Do you remember?" I asked Draco, but he shook his head.

"Something about a person being forsaken and death, I don't remember the words —"

But then he was interrupted as Rachel doubled over again and repeated what she'd no doubt said just minutes earlier. The eerie light of the Slytherin common room and the Black Lake didn't help, only making her seem like more of a demonic spirit. I closed my eyes, but it did nothing to prevent the vision of the python and the Oracle's spirit from flooding my head.

" _Fiery red has been forsaken;_

 _Watch her close, or she'll be taken_

 _Your friend will fool you through a lie_

 _And the taken one will promptly die;_

 _She won't be alone in meeting death_

 _Both good and bad take final breaths."_

Rachel collapsed again, the green light fading from her eyes as they rolled back up into her head.

"Well," said Draco, holding her up again, "There's another part. How many more will there be?"

I didn't have an answer for that.

* * *

Harry and Ron, along with the rest of the Weasleys, were back for breakfast the next day, and only then did I tell anyone else about Rachel's new prophecy piece. Because there were few people at Hogwarts at the time, the teachers had combined all four House tables into one, and Draco and Rachel were sitting with us.

Hermione, not surprisingly, pulled out her prophecy parchment and wrote down the next six lines as I recited them perfectly. I barely even took a moment to wonder why my memory was so excellent all the time now — I'd have time to worry about that later.

"Well, the first two lines have to mean Rachel, right?" Annabeth pondered as she picked a couple of blue waffles off of my plate. The house elves were serving regular waffles, but I'd managed to turn them blue with a simple spell. " _Fiery red has been forsaken_ — that has to mean Rachel. Ugh, Seaweed Brain! These are so sweet! Why'd you have to drown your waffles in maple syrup?"

"Hey!" I said defensively. "I can't drown, and neither can my waffles."

"Excellent logic, Percy," snorted Harry.

"Anyway," continued Annabeth, not having heard the comment or simply ignoring it, "it has to mean Rachel. Unless, maybe…" Her eyes strayed to Ginny, who was talking with Luna a couple of people down the table.

Ron followed her eyes. "Oh, no. Please, no. I don't want to relive another Chamber of Secrets scenario."

"In any case, we've got to watch both of them. I don't want anyone dying anytime soon," said Hermione, pointedly not looking at Malfoy

For no reason, I glanced at the clock on the Great Hall wall. It was five to ten. I suddenly remembered something, and cursed as I stood up. "Where're you going, Percy?" Annabeth asked worriedly.

"I almost forgot! I have to complete my Veritaserum for Professor Snape, and if I don't go I'll have to start over." I practically ran to the dungeons, a mark on my arm getting hotter and hotter as I did. The mark, which was tied to the timing charm, got warmer as the timing charm began to end, and it would burn my arm if I didn't get to the dungeons fast enough.

Thankfully, I managed to do so, and completed my Veritaserum half an hour later. I levitated some of the clear, water-like potion into my flask and put the rest in a large jar. I left the flask, marked as Veritaserum, on Professor Snape's desk before wiping out my cauldron and walking back up to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Cho/Harry: yes or no?**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Happy Pi Day! My favorite day of the year… :)**

 **Get ready for an eventful Christmas day at Hogwarts!**

 **I've decided to not put any Harry/Cho in the story. I don't like it, and most other people don't either; so I'll try to build up Harry/Ginny sooner than it happened in canon.**

 **The prophecy will be done in a couple more chapters, for those of you who were wondering.**

 **POVs: Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I will never be Rowling or Riordan._

* * *

Chapter 27

" _Well, you see, I had this nightmare… I was in a hall, in the Ministry, and I saw Mr. Weasley…"_

It was Christmas Eve; the Great Hall was decorated very brightly, with holly strung high up everywhere and mistletoe bursting out of cracks in the walls, decorating the halls with its luminous berries. (No, seriously. The mistletoe berries actually glowed white at Hogwarts.) Snow fell halfway down from the ceiling before melting into nothing; the Christmas trees glowed with golden candlelight and red ornaments, and the savory smells of the Christmas dinner wafted into every corner of the hall. The windows showed the dark night outside and the snow falling endlessly over the castle. It was a spectacular white Christmas (Eve).

The elves had been up all day making the feast, even though there were very few students here to celebrate, and the meal clearly showed the effort they had poured into it.

After Dumbledore's toast to a merry Christmas (except here in Britain, they called it "happy Christmas, for reasons I didn't understand), the food had appeared down the single table in the hall: pot roasts, mince and kidney and steak pies, vegetables that were roasted and fried and cooked in the oven and steamed; beef and veal chops, pork dipped in a sweet and spicy sauce, lamb ribs — there was even a roasted griffin (I tried a bit; it wasn't half bad, but had a horribly gummy texture).

As we ate our Christmas meal, I recounted Harry's story of Mr. Weasley being attacked in my head. He'd told us all how he'd been there and seen Mr. Weasley attacked by a huge snake — it had drawn much of his blood and broken a couple of his ribs — and then he had made his most horrifying acknowledgment so far: in his dream, Harry had _been_ the snake that attacked Mr. Weasley.

Ron had, not surprisingly, been quite horrified by this revelation, and had had to excuse himself from the table (to go vomit, as Hermione had later told us). Hermione herself had totally freaked out, telling him to go see Dumbledore and McGonagall and Pomfrey to see if he could figure out what was inducing these visions. Harry had told her that he'd already told Dumbledore and McGonagall, and that there wasn't really anything that the nurse could do about it.

Ginny, although as horrified as Ron, had seemingly understood Harry's fear of being the snake. After all, it wasn't easily that one forgot being possessed by Lord Voldemort in their second year. She knew exactly how Harry felt, and though she wanted to reassure him that he wasn't losing his mind and that Voldemort wasn't controlling him, there wasn't much she could do about that either.

Annabeth had only been a bit wary of this incident, which surprised me. " _It's natural for Harry to be in his Animagus form in his dreams,"_ she'd told me. When I'd asked her exactly how she knew so much about Animagi all of the sudden, she turned red and refused to speak to me. I was utterly flabbergasted by this behavior; Annabeth had never before been one to keep things from me.

"Seaweed Brain! Hellooooo?" Annabeth's voice ripped me back to the present. "Can you pass me the baked potatoes?"

I snapped out of it and reached for the nearest mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, they were currently in Malfoy's hands.

"Yes," he was saying, a bit haughtily, to Rachel (as she listened wide-eyed), "this is the first year I decided to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. Mother and Father wanted me back home, but I told them I'd be coming back only for the summer."

Annoyed at his superior, arrogant tone, I said, really irritably, "Pass the potatoes, Malfoy."

He turned to face me, one eyebrow up and a superior smirk on his face. "Forgotten your manners, _Jackson?_ " I gritted my teeth, trying not to let his tone and expression get to me.

"Well, if you won't pass them to me," I retorted through my teeth, "Can't you at least pass them to Annabeth?" Surprisingly, Malfoy didn't say anything back and passed the potatoes to Annabeth, suddenly looking interested in his turkey wing. I dismissed the odd behavior and went back to my food.

Sooner than I wanted it to be, the Christmas meal was over. The food vanished from the plates at last; Ron, Harry, Ginny and I set down our final round of Exploding Snaps. The final few Christmas Crackers were split in half, causing three Chocolate Frogs, seven more white mice (which were added to the collection of thirty-two), and a vividly colored parakeet to burst forth from the crackers. The parakeet, its wings a mess of turquoise, yellow, and green feathers, took off immediately, banging into windows in its desperate frenzy.

Dumbledore said a couple more words, his cheeks bright red from the wine, and we all headed off to bed. Hermione, who had brought her bookbag to dinner (honestly, who was surprised?), stayed behind and promised to catch up after she'd picked them all up.

"I feel like I could burst right now…" mumbled Ron satisfiedly, patting his stomach. His long hair fell into his eyes as we walked up the staircases. "Oi! Wh —" he yelled suddenly, only to discover his foot stuck in the special stair that he'd forgotten to overstep.

"Oh, gods…" Annabeth remarked, smirking as she tried to hold in her laughter.

"Of all the special steps you could forget to miss, this was the one?" Harry moaned in complaint. "It might take an hour for the step to let you go!"

Ron muttered a curse under his breath.

"Annabeth, know any solutions?" I asked her, but she shook her head.

"The only person who might know how to release it is Hermione. Speaking of who, where is she?" Annabeth looked around, but Hermione still hadn't caught up.

"I'll run down to the Great Hall to see if she's still down there," I offered before taking off at a slight jog. It wasn't until I was halfway down the stairs that I stopped hearing Ron's muffled attempts to free his foot.

I jogged around the last corner to the Great Hall, passing the four hourglasses filled with precious gems — apparently, Ravenclaw was currently ahead by a hundred and two points — before stopping dead in my tracks.

There, stuck under the mistletoe and determinedly looking absolutely _anywhere_ but at each other, were Malfoy and Hermione.

I covered my mouth, but it wasn't enough to prevent a snort from escaping. The two of them turned, their faces ablaze with blushes, and saw me. I leaned against the wall casually, trying to ignore the cold that seeped through my robes from it, and put my hand on my chin as if mildly interested.

"Oh, sod off, Jackson," said Draco coldly, turning away at my expression and crossing his arms.

"Percy! Ummm… uh, do — do you think you could — erm, help us?" Hermione squeaked, half terrified of me all of the sudden.

I comically widened my eyes. "Are you kidding? This is too good to be true! Besides, I can't destroy the mistletoe if anything you've tried hasn't worked. It looks like there's only one way you two can get out of there…" I winked, and Hermione blushed even more.

"Could you leave?" asked Malfoy in a tone not too different from the one he'd met me with on the Hogwarts Express all those months ago.

Shrugging, I pushed my hands into my pockets and walked back around the corner, then waited until I was out of view before stopping suddenly and waiting.

Hermione suddenly shrieked, and then something that sounded like a muffled " _Marrrffoyyy"_ carried its way to my ears. I heard him whisper something that sounded suspiciously like _Muffliato_ before there was silence.

I peeked one eye beyond the corner and out into the corridor beyond, and had to stifle a very girlish giggle. Malfoy, his face looking like he had just swallowed a worm while simultaneously appearing lost in a dream world, had cupped Hermione's chin in his hand and was leaning down to her lips.

She was responding enthusiastically, which surprised me slightly but not too much (I'd seen the way Hermione looked at Draco when she thought no one was looking: she'd have her quill in between her lips and look dreamily at him), grabbing his tie and jerking him down, then throwing her arms over his shoulders. I swallowed in a slightly nervous way, hearing the 'pop' of the mistletoe receding into the ceiling, but Malfoy and Hermione didn't break apart.

Not saying a word, I tore my eyes away from the couple (both of whom were bright red as they kissed, but seemingly enjoying it) and walked back to Ron and Harry and Annabeth, who asked me why I was looking so red and also why Hermione wasn't with me. At this, I made a slight strangled noise mixed with a cough, trying to hide my simultaneous laugh and shock. Annabeth, though, had already guessed what was happening. "Hermione will — uh, join us later. If she's not with Percy, she'll show up soon enough."

She was smirking as I squirmed uncomfortably all the way back to the common room.

* * *

I awoke on Christmas morning to a blinding white light flowing in through the boys' dormitory window. Said light, I figured out only minutes later, was coming from lightly falling snow. Apparently, it had snowed heavily all night, and now the entire castle and grounds was covered in a thick cold blanket. I was happy to be in my bed in Gryffindor Tower, where it was cozy and warm and the fire had been burning toastily.

There was a small pile of presents deposited on my trunk at the foot of my bed, Harry's, and Ron's. The rest of the boys were gone, and it was most likely for that reason that I found Harry snoozing under the covers as a reptile again, this time a very bright red replacing the usual black, and adorned with the usual white markings and green eyes. It was a _very_ Christmassy look.

I unsuccessfully tried to prod him awake, and instead referred to my other method: shaking him. However, I'd forgotten that it's never a good idea to shake a five-foot-long python. Harry's body instantly coiled around my arm and squeezed as I shook his soft scales, effectively cutting off the circulation. He woke up not two seconds later, head almost to the point of swallowing my hand whole, and released my arm when he noticed it was turning very red.

As I shook out my arm, trying to get the blood flowing again, I muttered to Harry, "Thanks for trying to eat my hand." As far as snakes go, he gave me a very humanlike, very annoyed look that clearly said, _Well, you shouldn't've tried to shake a python awake. I could have bitten you._

I rolled my eyes at him before walking over to Ron's bed. "Lmenaoson," he said when I shook him.

"It's Christmas, Ron! Get up!" At this remark, he flew out of his bed and landed hard on his butt.

"OY! CHRISTMAS, MATE! WHY — why is there a snake on Harry's bed?" Ron's eyes were utterly confused at seeing the python, which appeared a Christmas decoration or maybe even a candy cane with green eyes, sitting on Harry's bed and slithering down onto the floor.

The realization dawned on Ron. "Oh — hi Harry," he said uneasily — he still wasn't used to Harry's "other form" and didn't like snakes — before bursting out laughing. "Are you trying to look like a decoration?" Harry shot Ron the exact same look that he'd given me before, one of pure annoyance (how it was possible on a snake's muzzle I had no clue), before slithering down the staircase to the common room, refusing to change back into a human.

It was a pure stroke of misfortune that there were people down there already. Although Angelina was not in the common room (she was probably still sleeping; unbeknownst to most people, Angelina was not an early riser), nor were Parvati or Ginny, someone else was.

Someone with very slick blond hair and Slytherin robes, who was sleeping, stretched out on the couch in the Gryffindor common room like he owned the place, while a certain bushy-haired bookworm slept, curled up, in a separate armchair by the fire.

Harry, who hadn't yet noticed that Malfoy was sitting on the couch, slithered his merry way there and lifted his head to slide up onto the couch. He slunk up onto the back of the couch, but had no balance there and fell on top of Malfoy.

Who, of course, woke up and fell off the couch in his terror.

"WH-WH-OHMYGODWHATISTHATTHING?!" he shrieked in a distinctly girlish voice. One would think that a person in Slytherin, who had a father as slippery and slimy as a serpent (not to say snakes actually were slimy, because their scales were surprisingly soft and dry) wouldn't be terrified by a simple, non-venomous python.

Hermione, who had woken up to Draco's screams, rubbed her eyes before she actually took a look around the room to see Malfoy stumbling over himself in his haste to get away from Harry.

"Malf — Draco, what the hell?" she asked, bewildered, until she noticed the bright candy cane-colored serpent draped across the furniture. "Oh! _Harry!"_

Malfoy had heard her words, and shrieked, " _Harry?!_ What the bloody h—"

"Malfoy!" Hermione cut him off sternly.

"Wh-wh — Potter is a snake?"

Hermione's cheeks flushed red. She calmly stood up, walked past Malfoy and to Harry, and hesitantly touched the snake's back. "Yes. This is Harry."

Malfoy, now confused more than terrified, sat down as far away from Harry as possible. "B-b-but —"

I interrupted him; there was no way to take it back now that Hermione had spilled the beans. "Malfoy, Harry, um, accidentally transformed himself into an Animagus. You _can't_ tell anyone. Got that?"

Malfoy was halfway into nodding when Ron stumbled down the staircase and saw him. "Malfoy? What the _bloody hell_ do you think you're doing —" he spluttered, angry and very red.

"Ronald!" Hermione interrupted him. "The Slytherin common room password changed last night — don't ask why, I don't know — and I offered to let him sleep in the common room here!"

Ron was still spluttering in surprise. " _Malfoy?_ Have you lost your mind, Hermione? Letting a _Death Eater's son_ into Gryffindor tower — hold on, since when are you and Malfoy such good friends anyway? And how would you know that the Slytherin common room password changed?"

Hermione turned bright pink again and stared intently at her shoes. Draco, although still staying as far away from Harry, was also pink at the ears.

Unable to contain myself, I said, "Well, I caught these two last night — stuck under the mistletoe…"

Ron was turning purple with fury, Hermione protested very loudly, Draco looked into the fire, ears burning, but Harry's reaction was the oddest, because he was still a snake; he started squirming, his mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out, and eventually fell off the side of the couch and hit the floor belly-up.

"Merry Christmas everyone — _what in the name of the gods?!"_ Annabeth was walking down the stairs from the girls dorm, running her hands through her sleep-tousled blond hair. "What — why is Draco here?"

"Well, Wise Girl, a certain Gryffindor let him into the common room at who-knows-what-hour last night," I informed her, but her eyes were already following Draco's fearful ones and landed on Harry, who was still twisting really oddly on the floor. Who knew snakes laughed like that?

"HARRY POTTER! You get your scaly ass into human form right this minute!" she yelled, walking over to the snake and threatening to stomp on his spine with her foot.

Harry finally stopped rolling on the floor laughing (I assumed that was what he was doing) and morphed back into his regular self before carefully avoiding Annabeth's raised foot as he stood up and brushed the dust from his pajamas.

Draco, meanwhile, was looking all the more scared (I was still shocked that he was so terrified of snakes). Hermione walked over to him and lightly, hesitantly placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You are never again to come out of the dorm if you're going to look like that!" Annabeth reprimanded, shouting at Harry (who looked down at the floor in embarrassment).

"Look like what?" asked a small voice as Ginny appeared from the staircase, looking slightly annoyed. "You're all lucky I came down instead of Angelina. She wouldn't have hesitated to punch your faces in. Malfoy?"

"I'm going to leave now," he said, looking more put together and having regained his usual cool. "Rachel will be wondering where I am." And with not another word, Malfoy slunk out of the portrait hole.

We all heard the Fat Lady shout at him as he left: "A Slytherin in Gryffindor Tower! What an insult! I'll be reporting this, you little —"

Thankfully, Ginny had already forgotten Annabeth's comment to Harry about "looking like that", and instead was staring open-mouthed after Malfoy. "Why was he here?"

Hermione giggled slightly. "It's a long story, Gin. I'll tell you later. Oh! It's Christmas! Happy Christmas everyone!"

Eventually, the twins came down from their dormitory, as did Parvati Patil and Angelina. The twins eyes were bloodshot, bags hung low over their eyes, and their faces and red hair were covered with spots of black ash.

"Up all night perfecting the new Skiving Snackboxes," yawned George as Angelina walked over to him and kissed him a Merry Christmas.

"Could you maybe not Vanish them this time, 'Mione?" asked Fred. "No, wait, this time I'll make sure that you don't even get near them."

Hermione snorted. The twins and Angelina left, as did Parvati (who went to Ravenclaw tower), and Hermione _accio_ 'd all of our presents down to the common room so we could open them together in front of the fire.

My presents, strangely enough, were all wrapped in blue. I opened them one at a time; the first was a light green-blue sweater with the letter P knitted into it (from Mrs. Weasley); then there was a book from Hermione, titled _Elemental Magi of the Twentieth Century_ , supposedly so I could study more than just waterbending. A gift had come all the way from Manhattan, from my mom and Paul: a small, half-heart pendant made out of coral pink and light blue coral. Annabeth had received the other half of the pendant, which formed a heart when you conjoined them. I was a little embarrassed, but it was a really sweet gift. Along with it came a bag full of blue candy — the first mortal candy I'd had in months.

Harry and Ron had both got me magical items; a sea-dragon figurine that spit scalding water and twisted and flew, and a mini broom that zoomed around by itself to remind me of Quidditch (as if those memories were wonderful).

Annabeth had got me maybe the smallest but most significant thing — an enchanted tapestry, a weaving (probably something she'd gotten from Athena, though I'd never seen her weave before) that showed me Camp Half-Blood. I could see the ever-sunny hills and strawberry hills as snow-clouds parted around it, and the Big House, blue against the fields, and the arena and the lagoon where we'd kissed…

"Thank you," I whispered to her, pressing my lips to her forehead.

"Merry Christmas, Seaweed Brain."

"Merry Christmas, Wise Girl."

* * *

We spent the entire morning outside on the grounds, having snowball fights and building fortresses and huddling around Hermione's small but warm flames-in-a-jar. Around eleven in the morning, Annabeth spotted a black-clad figure marching towards us through the falling snow, an emerald-green scarf around his neck. Not a minute later, Malfoy had joined us around Hermione's jar full of blue flames.

He shivered. "No, snow really isn't my thing," he said by way of greeting. Ron stared at him icily, anger flooding his ears red.

"Hmm," Hermione speculated. "I always thought you loved snow and the cold. You know, given that you're such a cold person yourself." Ron was on the verge of yelling; it was so blatantly _obvious_ how jealous he was of Hermione.

He shot her an icy glare. "Just because I'm cold doesn't mean I like the cold. You do know that I was raised to be cold to Mud —" He caught himself just as Ron gave him a piercing look. "Muggleborns like you?"

Hermione pretended she hadn't heard his error. "Yes. I also know that your father is the worst person on this planet, maybe next to Voldemort."

Draco flinched at the Dark Wizard's name. "No, you're right. My father is rather horrible. And no, he most _definitely_ will not be hearing about this." At this, Harry and Hermione started laughing, and even Ron cracked a smile.

"It seems Rachel has changed you for the better, you ugly little ferret," Harry said. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

Malfoy shrugged, though there was a slight trace of worries in his eyes. "I don't know. I went back to the common room and she was just coming out. She said she had to go somewhere and she'd be back soon."

"Alright. Well, Ron, want to go back to our game?" Harry asked. Hermione and Ginny joined them, and soon there were snowballs flying again.

"Draco — um, there's something we should tell you," Annabeth started, her arms in her armpits to keep warm. "You already know that we're the children of Greek gods." He nodded, uncertain. "Well, there's a chance that you're descended from them as well."

Malfoy didn't look too surprised; then again, he was a trained actor since birth.

"We — Percy and I — formulated a theory when you told me you thought you'd seen me before somewhere. Then you mentioned that you didn't know who your grandmother was on your father's side. And there's also the fact that we look really alike. Almost like twins." I nodded along, not knowing if I should interject. Annabeth kept going. "So we deduced that your dad's mom was my mom, Athena."

Now, there was the smallest trace of bewilderment on his face. "Hold up. My dad is your brother?" Malfoy asked, looking creeped out.

"Well, technically my half-brother. We have different dads. But that doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that you have some gold blood in your veins — ichor, the blood of the gods. Which makes you both doubly vulnerable and extremely powerful. Your family is not actually _pureblood_." Annabeth had her hands folded, her mouth turned down on one side like that would help Malfoy understand.

He was deep in thought, scratching his chin. "You're my aunt —"

Annabeth stopped him right there. "That doesn't matter, not really with godly families. If you take the time to consider it, Percy's my second uncle —" I made a face "— but that doesn't matter. Let's just call each other _cousins_ for now."

"I'm the grandson of the Goddess of Wisdom? Wait — does my mother know this?" he asked, still trying to take it all in.

"I don't know. But now you know. Merry Christmas?" Annabeth said, her statement a question.

"Alright. Fine." He shook his head violently, then replaced his Slytherin hat. "I can absorb this. But you still have to explain why Potter's a snake. A bloody snake, and a Parseltongue, in Gryffindor."

He shook his head again. "Bloody marvelous. Well, Happy — or as you Americans say it, — Merry Christmas. I'll see you later, I'm going to go find Rachel."

And without another word, he turned around and trudged back to the castle.

* * *

 **A/N: Before you ask: No, Draco is** _ **not**_ **OOC in this chapter. He's changing. Change happens through stories and life. So, no. He will never be that snotty pureblood bully ever again. Although he will still be cold and Draco-like, because there's some things you just can't change about yourself. Also: Hermione and Draco** _ **just kissed**_ **. They're not actually together.**

 **The beginning section of this chapter (the mistletoe scene) has been posted in Hermione's POV on my page as a one-shot, so go take a look at that!**

 **Any thoughts on Draco's fear of snakes and his hate of snow? (I thought it fit him really well, and that was a blank Rowling never really filled in.)**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: T** **he mistletoe scene from the last chapter in Hermione's POV is on my page: a oneshot called "A Sprig of White Berries"! Also, I put a progress meter on my profile for anyone who's interested to see how far along the chapters are.**

 **POVs: Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I don't own the series..._

* * *

Chapter 28

The rest of the holidays passed fairly quietly. The Gryffindor common room was usually empty besides the demigods, Hermione, Ron and I and sometimes Ginny. George and Fred were usually holed up in their dormitory, making explosions that filled the common room with black ash and smoke. Had Hogwarts had any fire detector of any kind, we'd already be drowned in water. As it was, there were more than a couple occasions when the explosions somehow alerted the Hogwarts staff, and McGonagall would burst into the common room to demand what the ruckus was.

The last time that the twins had blown up their dormitory, it wasn't McGonagall who showed up, but Umbridge, who had returned from her short break at the Ministry and would stay the rest of the holiday break. I made sure to avoid her when walking around the castle.

Percy was busy every day, making up his homework for all the classes. He'd already concocted his Veritaserum, and was halfway done with an Amortentia. The real problem, he'd complained time and time again, was Transfiguration. His learning spells for changing the human body was not going too well — mostly because he spent all the time he should have been using to practice the spells non-verbally instead complaining to us.

Annabeth helped him as much as she could, but he was still lacking and quite behind on his schoolwork. His demigod abilities, though, hadn't deteriorated. I caught him in the dormitory once, sitting on his bed and staring off into space instead of at the Transfiguration essay in front of him, his hand levitating water from his cup as if of its own volition.

Angelina had taken to hanging out with some fellow seventh-year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and was rarely seen around. Parvati was almost never in Gryffindor tower, spending time with her sister now that Lavender Brown had gone home.

On the occasion that Ginny hung out with us in the common room, she was always hesitant to look at me or talk to me. Any time I tried resulted in her blushing furiously and running either up the stairs or out the portrait hole.

Malfoy didn't come back into Gryffindor tower and stuck to his own dungeon of the castle. Over the weeks of the holiday break, I learned _exactly_ how pink Malfoy could get when he was around Hermione. It wasn't nearly as red as Ron, whose face visibly burst into flames when he caught Malfoy eyeing Hermione, but suffice it to say that he could get pink enough to make it seem like he'd been out on the African savannah for a few hours.

I did, on more than one occasion, find Malfoy speaking to Annabeth. Sometimes I caught him whispering in hushed voices with Percy, but that was rare. He spent more time around Annabeth, but it didn't seem to bug Percy at all. Strange only began to describe it. Rachel was never anywhere to be seen.

Soon, the long days of snowball fights, cozy fireplaces, and delicious steaming feasts in the Great Hall blurred together, and the holidays drew to a close. On the last night before everyone else came back to Hogwarts, we all sat and conversed in the common room until midnight.

Percy yawned. "Well, my Everlasting Elixir should be done brewing by tomorrow morning. I can get down to the dungeons during first class and finish it up."

"Did you manage to get all your Transfig essays done?" Annabeth asked, her head on Percy's chest while his arm rested loosely on her shoulder.

He nodded, yawning again. "Been a busy two weeks."

"Mmph," grumbled Hermione from the armchair nearest the fire. She and Ron were currently engaged in a match of Exploding Snap. "I haven't seen Rachel in a while. Did Draco say where she was?" she asked, looking down at the cards. Ron turned red at her reference of Malfoy's first name. Percy and Annabeth didn't get a chance to respond, though, because the portrait hole opened and Ginny stepped in.

"Oh, hello! Mind if I join you?" she asked Hermione, sitting down with her and Ron at the table where the cards were laid out.

"Where've you been all day?" Ron asked Ginny. She hadn't been around at all today.

"Outside with some friends," Ginny responded vaguely, studying the cards intently. Ron had just opened his mouth and looked ready to ask her to clarify when she looked up. "Hey, I was coming up to the common room from the Great Hall just now and Malfoy ran past me. Looked like he was going to Dumbledore's office."

I looked at her, and she blushed and looked away again. "Malfoy? Why would he go to Dumbledore?" I asked, but Ginny only shrugged, her face still flushed. Ron seemed flabbergasted by this new piece of information, while Hermione looked only worried.

I glanced at Annabeth and Percy, who were looking at each other, now wide awake. "That can't be good," commented Annabeth, her eyebrows scrunched together. She was already standing up.

"Wise Girl, don't you think Malfoy —"

"Draco."

"— yes, fine, _Draco_ — would have come up here and warned us if something was wrong before running to Dumbledore?"

Annabeth sat down on Percy's lap again, still looking perturbed, but made no move to get up again. "I'm sure it's fine," Percy reassured her, rubbing her arm, and she nodded. She didn't look convinced.

* * *

The next morning, Hogwarts' halls were once more filled with bustling students, all of them wearing scarves and gossiping about what happened over the holidays. The black mistletoe failed to recede, though, and caught many a surprised couple of students underneath its leaves. Classes started once again, catching everyone but Percy (who'd been working the whole break long) and Hermione by surprise.

Professor Trelawney was her usual self that morning in Divination, and it didn't take much investigation to know why. "Hello, dears. Please take out your books and look at chapter seventeen…" Ron and I both looked around the room to see if something had changed to revert Trelawney back to her usual self; two things had. For one, Umbridge was in the back of the room, furiously taking notes. But besides that, the seat next to Malfoy was empty.

Rachel Dare didn't show up all morning, and wasn't at lunch either. It was only when we talked with Annabeth and Percy during lunch that we found out why.

"Well, I saw Draco walking to the infirmary during our free hours this morning," she explained in a hushed voice. "I went with him. Apparently, Rachel fell unconscious last night and hasn't woken up since. She's in the Hospital Wing."

Percy looked utterly shocked at hearing this news before putting the pieces together. "That must be why Ginny saw him running to Dumbledore. But why wouldn't he come to us first?" He pondered the matter for a while after, and was still staring at his pot roast when Hermione, Ron and I walked off to Potions.

Classes passed, boring as they had always been. By dinnertime, I was already exhausted and wishing for another holiday break. No such thing was going to happen, of course.

Dinner seemed bland after the weeks of holiday food and feasts. Percy seemed slightly moody, keeping to himself, while Annabeth and Hermione discussed runes. As I looked idly down the table, I caught sight of Ginny talking with Dean Thomas, blushing when he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

Ron was looking the same way. He exploded into a mess of anger, growing redder and redder. I felt the same, but on the inside, as though some wild beast had been freed of its tether and was roaring furiously. What was the matter with me? After minutes of wondering at the rage within me, I finally decided that it must be because it was Ron's sister. Of course I'd feel the need to protect Ginny.

"We were thinking the next meeting should be tomorrow. It's the best possible time. Thoughts, Harry?" Hermione's voice ripped me back to the present.

"Er, sure," I answered, not paying attention and trying to keep my eyes off of Ginny's seemingly new boyfriend.

* * *

After almost everyone was gone from the Great Hall, the five of us made to stand up and leave. It was well past eight, and I had a large amount of homework that wasn't going to do itself. Just as we walked away from the table, Malfoy joined us. He greeted us (mostly Percy and Annabeth) and walked alongside us. It was when we were approaching the staircases to the dungeon that I heard something — it was a low and long bellow, and it was _very_ not human.

Someone screamed, the sound carrying its way to our ears.

Annabeth and Percy shared a simple look before sprinting down the stairs three at a time.

Malfoy ran after them, soon followed by us.

We followed the sound of the roar, bending around turns like racehorses. I heard the unmistakable sound of a sword being drawn: _SHIIINNG!_ And when Malfoy, Hermione, Ron and I all rounded the corner, we saw something alien to our eyes.

"Annabeth, you go around. Put on your cap!" Percy shouted. There, its claws digging into a small first-year Slytherin girl who lay unconscious on the ground, was a monster. It had enormous scaly wings, an ugly gray-green body, and a crown of red and silver feathers. And it was a monster I recognized immediately. The image of a similar creature standing elegantly beside a foggy forest and a manticore, hissing in Parseltongue, was too familiar.

But this monster actually was the incarnation of evil. It was nothing like the kind, harmless quetzalcoatl Percy and I had met near the Forbidden Forest the day I turned myself to a snake.

The quetzalcoatl, still clawing at the unconscious girl, leapt away from Percy's sword when he brought it down on its neck. It hissed at the son of Poseidon, and though Percy didn't understand, I did.

" _Little demigod. So fragile and frail. So_ useless _,"_ it hissed menacingly. " _You won't stand a chance when I rip you to shreds. And your petty girlfriend. Don't think I can't see past an Invisibility charm."_

I was too slow to process the monster's words, and my warning to Annabeth came too late. The quetzalcoatl swiped its clawed foot around and hit her invisible form. The hat fell off her head, and Annabeth hit the wall, crumpling to the ground and moaning.

Percy, eyes blazing with anger, slashed at the quetzalcoatl with hands too fast to follow. This time, he hit its foot, and a fountain of sand erupted from it, coating the bloody marble floor with yellow dust.

Still, the quetzalcoatl wouldn't give up. The sand around its foot rose back up and cocooned the injured leg. When the sand fell away, the wound was gone. " _I am a son of Gaea, insolent child. You cannot harm me when my feet are on the ground."_

For a second, I thought Percy spoke Parseltongue. "Spawn of Gaea. Just my luck." But then I realized he must have simply deduced this with his mind.

The quetzalcoatl hit Percy again, and his sword clattered five feet away. Instead of falling, the demigod took the blow and stood up again, drawing his wand instead. He shot the quetzalcoatl with spell after spell, but nothing would harm it. Hermione and Malfoy both drew their wands at the same time, but before they could fire a single spell, Percy had sent a curse at the four of us. " _Petrificus totalus!"_ he yelled, and we froze up, unable to do anything but watch.

The quetzalcoatl took advantage of Percy's small falter in attention and raked his claws across Percy's back, ripping the cloak he had on in two and tearing his clothes in half. Percy's back was exposed save for some thick white bandages wrapped around his entire torso.

Percy yelled, in pain or a war cry I didn't know, and lunged at the monster yet again. This time he hit its throat. Sand fell to the ground again.

Percy kept attacking the monster, and I gradually noticed that the dungeon floor was soaked in cold water — probably summoned from the Black Lake by the son of Poseidon himself.

The water eventually reached the quetzalcoatl's knees, and Percy administered a final blow to its head. The creature bellowed in agony before exploding into sand and dust. The water receded, taking the monster's remains with it.

Percy turned around. The bandages on his back had been ripped through the middle. I remembered the day he'd woken up in the hospital wing, his back soaked in blood, and I now saw the source of the blood.

Carved into his back was one word: _Immortal_. I barely had time to wonder before Percy repaired his bandages and clothes and cloak. He unfroze us before running to Annabeth. And just as he did, someone else screamed. "MR. JACKSON!"

It was Professor McGonagall, accompanied by Snape, Dumbledore, and almost all the other teachers.

"What in the name of _Merlin_ happened here?" she screamed, positively furious.

"Professor — there —" Percy started talking, but he was exhausted.

Malfoy cut in, to everyone's surprise. "Professor, there was a monster down in the dungeons. We all heard it and came to investigate. It was a — well, I actually have no idea what it was — but Percy and Annabeth started attacking it."

"There was a little girl — here, look, she was attacked by the monster," Hermione interrupted, showing the teachers the badly bleeding girl and picking her up.

"Do any of you have any sense? Why didn't you contact a teacher?" Snape sneered.

"We — it would have taken too long."

"I see," said Professor McGonagall, not sounding like she "saw" at all. "And do any of you know where the monster came from, or what it was?"

"No, Professor —" Ron began, but I interrupted.

"Actually, yes. It was a quetzalcoatl. I heard it speaking Parseltongue," I said. Snape looked horrified, and Umbridge stared at me like she was considering taking off points from Gryffindor because I spoke Parseltongue.

"We must discuss this immediately, Albus —" McGonagall began, only to be cut short by the headmaster.

"Actually, Minerva, I must borrow all six of these students immediately. There has been a slight — er, issue they must know about." The rest of the professors seemed baffled.

Dumbledore motioned for all of us to follow him. Annabeth, who was just getting up, managed to hobble along. We reached his office without anyone saying a word. Only when we were inside did Dumbledore speak.

"Miss Rachel Dare came to me early this evening. Madam Pomfrey had just released her from the infirmary," he began. "She said all she knew was that she had been in a trance. And she still was."

No one spoke. Dumbledore continued.

"The Oracle gave me what I believe is the last part of the prophecy. Miss Rachel said that, for the first time, she recalled being her conscious self when the Oracle took over her body. She remembered every last bit of the prophecy."

"Well, where is she?" Percy demanded.

"Miss Dare has been taken," Dumbledore said. "She disappeared right after leaving my office. And no one knows where she went."

" _WHAT?"_ Percy yelled. "She — she's been kidnapped?"

"We do not know, Percy," the old man said. "All I can give you is the last part of the prophecy. I assure you I've already implemented all the tracking spells that exist, but to no avail. Miss Dare seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet."

Percy looked furious and like he wanted to organize a search party, but Annabeth said, her eyes hard, "Can we have the prophecy?"

"Of course. Listen carefully and write it down." Hermione already had her parchment out.

And so Dumbledore delivered the last part of the prophecy to the six of us. To the demigods, and Hermione and Ron and I, and the most unlikely ally we'd ever have.

" _Snake takes its leave; refuse to drown,_

 _All go back to the starting town_

 _They'll find the secrets, and now unfold_

 _The tale not believed as always told:_

 _Life belongs to the bearer_

 _To fight against the threat of terror,_

 _You must all stand together."_

There was nothing left to say.

* * *

 **A/N: Done. The prophecy is done.**

 **Oh, and also: I'm accepting one-shot requests. Look at my profile for details! :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N:** **As I mentioned in my profile, there's a 99% chance that an idea I get from a reviewer will go into the story sooner or later, especially if it's supported by multiple people or is detailed. However, I do have the right to reject an idea** _ **.**_

 **There are multiple things I'm opting to leave out: Occlumency lessons with Snape, Umbridge's firing of Trelawney (mentioned but not described), and Skeeter writing for** _ **The Quibbler**_ **. Enjoy!**

 **POVs: Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the quetzalcoatls. :)_

* * *

Chapter 29

"Mr. Jackson, I'd like for you to stay here as of the moment. The rest of you are dismissed," Dumbledore said after a long lingering silence. Annabeth, after throwing me a worried look, shut the door behind her. I turned to face Dumbledore.

"Sit down, please, Percy."

I sat down in the armchair in front of his wooden, silver-magical-object-covered desk, utterly surprised that he'd called me Percy instead of Mr. Jackson.

Dumbledore opened his mouth only to close it again. After a couple of long seconds, he opened it again and began to speak, calm as ever and with a slight twinkle shining behind his half-moon glasses.

"Percy," he started. "There is something I am aware of that you are not."

 _No duh, Sherlock,_ I commented silently to myself. _You're a genius. The smartest person that ever lived. And I am not a fifth as smart as you._ But suddenly, something that had been plaguing me since the start of the school year came back to me. I _was_ smarter than I used to be this year at Hogwarts. And I remembered things nearly perfectly, something absolutely everyone at camp would not hesitate to deny last summer. Still, it made no sense. I shooed the thoughts about my very improved memory and intelligence from my head and leaned forward to hear what the headmaster had to say.

"I recall, as you surely do, the first day of term this year. You, Ms. Dare and Ms. Chase all came to my office to get your so-called little "lessons" to catch up on five years' worth of magical knowledge." Dumbledore paused, then eyed me with bright blue orbs. "You remember this, do you not?"

"Yes, sir," I responded almost reflexively, because I _did_ remember that morning in this very office. When Dumbledore had told us about his self-invented spell to transfer knowledge while keeping it in his own head at the same time.

Dumbledore sighed, still calm. "Well, it would seem that I accidentally transferred a bit more than just the knowledge leading up to sixth year at Hogwarts."

I looked at him, not understanding. If I stayed silent, he would continue with his explanation. And so he did.

"Percy, I copied and transferred those specific memories in my head — all of which had previously been perfectly stored, untouched by time, in my Pensieve — to you. All of the memories and knowledge you now have." The old man, stroking his beard, paused once more. "I do trust you've kept this information and the occurrence of this spell confidential? It would be a disaster if people knew such a spell existed — everyone would want to have everything transferred to their head instead of having to learn it in a classroom…"

I nodded to show I had indeed kept it secret.

"Good. Well, I hope you keep this next bit of information secret as well. You see, Percy, the day I transferred that knowledge to you, I transferred something else, in a way I do not yet know. I gave you my excellent memory."

And suddenly, it all clicked into place. No _wonder_ I could remember things so easily, if Dumbledore had transferred his recall to me too. The man was old, probably well over a hundred, but there was no doubt his memory was still clear and fresh (especially because of that Pensieve thingy, which I found I knew about).

"I am not sure how this occurred, Percy, but it is of utmost importance —" Dumbledore's voice let slip a hint of agitation now "— that you tell no one. Not even Miss Chase."

I gulped, hesitant. But there was no way I was not promising Dumbledore that. There were probably tons of witches and wizards who would want to find out a way to get better memory.

"Yes, sir."

"I have your word?"

Another hesitation, before, "Yes. You have my word. Erm, Professor? Is there any way we can send out parties to find Rachel?"

"I have already told you, Percy. I have tried every single tracking spell there is. All of them would have shown me results by now, but Miss Rachel doesn't appear anywhere on the world map. The only explanation I can think of is exceptionally Dark Magic, worthy of Lord Voldemort's doing. I will keep an eye out, but I sincerely wish that you do not leave Hogwarts in search for her. I will tell you if there's anything important."

I nodded as Dumbledore smiled kindly. "You are dismissed. Good day, Mr. Jackson." Knowing not to disobey him, I left the office. What a strange but powerful character this silver-bearded man was indeed.

* * *

Mid-January brought the second Quidditch game of the season, Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff. I decided to stay in the commons with Poseidon purring on my lap, not really wishing to relive a Quidditch game quite yet. Annabeth wanted to stay with me, but was soon ushered out by Hermione and Harry. Ravenclaw won the game by an easily forgettable number of points. The next couple of D.A. meetings came and went, and Annabeth helped me teach the eager students in physical combat while Harry and Hermione progressed them to Patronuses.

Annabeth's patronus, oddly enough, was not an owl as I'd expected but instead a beautiful falcon — maybe a peregrine. Mine was not corporeal yet; only a wisp of mist came from the tip of my wand at the last practice. Malfoy, who'd recently been informed about Rachel's MIA status, slunk around the castle most days, looking lost. Soon enough, though, he'd gone back to what I assumed were his "old ways", hanging around his malevolent Slytherin buddies and not talking to us.

The first month of the year melted into February with still not a sign of Rachel. The pink month, unlike its predecessor, passed at a snail's pace. Most days all that could be heard was the whispers of girls as they passed a group of boys, eager for the Hogsmeade outing on Valentine's Day. I, of course, asked Annabeth to go with me, something that disappointed a large group of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw girls (especially one named Romilda Vane, who Hermione warned me I should stay away from). Honestly, I didn't know what their problem was. Did they _really_ believe that I was going to ask them out to Hogsmeade when my relationship with Annabeth was well-known? Girls.

Twice more Dumbledore's Army met and practiced. I helped out the boys with some sword fighting and again failed to make a corporeal Patronus. Several new Daily Prophets broke up the Valentine's gossip for a few days, bringing about the news of a mass breakout from Azkaban where several known and convicted Death Eaters had escaped. Rita Skeeter's article explained how Fudge had blamed Sirius for the breakout, something that stirred Harry into a frenzy of frustration and anger. Soon, though (and thankfully), Harry forgot all about it as he became increasingly nervous with the amount of girls staring at him in the hallways.

Hagrid was now on probation by Umbridge, something that became widely known throughout the school but never became a gossip topic. It was only then that Harry, Hermione and Ron explained to us how much Umbridge hated half-breeds like Hagrid, who she considered monsters. I spent the rest of the day twittering nervously about what would happen in Umbridge found out about Annabeth and I

Hermione, I knew, was secretly hoping that Malfoy would ask her out. It was so blatantly obvious, the way she went red and hid her face when we passed him and a group of Slytherins in the hallways. On a late early February night, I went down to the common room only to find myself eavesdropping on Annabeth, Ginny and Hermione whispering to each other.

"I don't know, it just — ugh, _mistletoe._ It ruins everything."

"Not to mention Ron," I heard my girlfriend whisper, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Don't even say that. He'd go rat me out to his mother first chance he got if Draco asked me out." Hermione was covering her eyes and blushing.

"He can be such a git," Ginny said. "I still can't believe that you fell for _Malfoy. Malfoy_ , of all people! Wasn't he the guy who bullied you mercilessly for four years?"

"Yes, but… he's changed." Hermione bit her lip.

"And you _kissed_ him. Under the _mistletoe,_ " Ginny ranted on, not having heard a word Hermione said. "Oh god, mum will disown you."

"Well, it's not like you're not in love."

"What, Dean? He's a friend. Don't know how many times I've tried to tell _him_ that," Ginny snorted.

"No, not Dean…" Hermione's voice was very suggestive. I could imagine Ginny turning red as her hair.

"A certain Boy-Who-Lived, don't you think, 'Mione?" Annabeth teased.

"Mm-hmm, she's thought about him for _years…_ oh, god, just imagine Ginny and Harry getting married." Hermione and Annabeth both sniggered.

"Oh, shut up, the two of you. Yes, I've liked _him_ for a long time, but it's not like he'll ever notice me. He's the famous Boy-Who-Lived." She said this so nonchalantly that I was inclined to believe she wasn't bothered by that, but she most likely was _very_ bothered by it. "I can get by by dating other boys. There's plenty of them."

"Stay away from Percy," Annabeth began, her voice menacing, "or I'll chop your head off." The three girls all laughed quietly.

"Is it weird to hope that Draco will ask me to Hogsmeade? He probably won't, he's still got that Slytherin pride and his ego would be _very_ wounded were his friends to find out he's dating a petty Mudblood," Hermione said, not playing the nonchalant card as well as Ginny had.

"Don't call yourself that, 'Mione," murmured Ginny sadly. "He's not called you that since last year. And if his ego is too much to handle you, there are lots of others who would appreciate you."

"Well, a girl can dream, right?" Annabeth spoke up, yawning. "I'm going to bed. We have a Potions test tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure Percy will do better than me, especially if I get no sleep." I smirked silently from my eavesdropping place, but that was the end of that conversation.

Neither Ginny nor Hermione were asked out by the guys of their dreams, and instead opted to go together with Ron and Harry. Harry had quietly mentioned to me how Cho had tried to ask him out, but he'd refused as politely as possible. "I heard from Terry Boot that he kissed her under the mistletoe over the holiday break. Didn't go too well; said she started crying about Cedric all over again. I'm not getting myself into that mess," he'd muttered. "I've had enough nightmares about Cedric's death as it is." And then he'd drawn his curtains around his bed, leaving me wondering what the Hades he was talking about.

Even though I'd asked Annabeth to go with me, we ended up hanging out with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny at the Three Broomsticks. It was very cold outside, but only soft snow drifted down from a cloudy blue sky. The six of us trudged down to the town from the castle and ordered warm butterbeers when we got to the pub.

Hermione scowled obviously when Draco Malfoy walked into the creaky building, hand in hand with Pansy Parkinson and discussing deeply with her. "That utter cow. I can't believe him!" she muttered to herself so only Annabeth and I could hear before striking up a conversation with Ron about prefect duties. He only nodded along to whatever she was saying, looking slightly uncomfortable, as he stuffed his mouth with dozens of Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, pieces of taffy, and chocolates.

"I mean, really, there are some students out there who ask the rudest questions!" Hermione exclaimed angrily, not even really watching Ron anymore. He picked up a creamy candy that looked like it was coated in lemon frosting and shoved it in his mouth whole. Not two seconds later, Ron swallowed, exploded, and then sitting in front of us was a very yellow canary that screeched in confusion.

Fred and George popped out of nowhere. "Hey, Ronniekins. I'm glad you volunteered to be our lab rat — or should we say bird?"

Hermione, who had stopped talking the instant Ron had blown up, looked at the twins with a perplexed expression.

"I'm Gred," said Fred.

"And I'm Forge," said George.

"And you just ate our brand-new product, Canary Creams!" the two exclaimed in unision.

"You know, bird puns just fly over my head," I said without thinking. I got a round of laughs for that one and a " _Oh my gods_ , Seaweed Brain, you couldn't think of anything better?"

"Well, this is _hawk_ -ward," I started, pretending it was totally unintentional.

"Hey, I've always wondered why Ravenclaw's symbol was an eagle?" Ginny wondered aloud. "Why not, _say_ , a _raven_?" Everyone laughed at this. We spent the rest of the Hogsmeade outing wandering around the small wizarding town, buying excessively unnecessary things, telling very horrible puns and carrying a shivering yellow canary around in our hands.

And when we got back to Hogwarts and after we returned Ron to his redheaded form, Annabeth and I cuddled on the couch by the fire, half-buried in sweaters (courtesy of Mrs. Weasley) while the Golden Trio and Ginny exchanged odd stories and puns and Valentine's Day chocolates.

* * *

The excitement brought around by February fourteenth died away quickly after that day, as did the black mistletoe that had plagued Hogwarts in a parasitic manner until then. Then came around the third Quidditch game of the season and Umbridge's sacking Trelawney and a centaur who obviously knew a completely different form of Divination being appointed teacher. Dumbledore and Umbridge fought in front of students in the courtyard, and Dumbledore convinced Umbridge that Trelawney could stay at Hogwarts even if she could no longer teach.

It was one warm nearly-spring night, after a particularly long day full of classes, a D.A. meeting, and lots of homework that I had my first nightmare in months.

 _I was in the hall again. The hall with the door at the end. But this time, there was no Harry Potter. There was no snake. There was just me and the door and the hallway. And this time, nothing stopped me as I reached the door and opened it._

 _Rows upon rows of shelves of globes with swirling white smoke in them filled a seemingly endless room. I walked through the narrow passages, met on both sides with the same weird globes, and let my feet take me where they would._

 _I walked on and on through the maze of snowglobe-like spheres, no sound waving around me and all but the swirling white fog in the glasses and my own footsteps quiet and still. That is, until I heard a voice._

" _Yessss," it said. "Come to me, find the girl. Ssshe will sssoon be dead."_

 _I followed the voice, my feet acting against my own will, and finally rounded a corner and squinted into the darkness ahead. A small light appeared, growing brighter and larger, and it soon had illuminated the entire scene before me._

 _A girl lay on the floor in front of me, her frail and doubled-in body shrouded by mist and a halo of frizzy red hair. Rachel. I tried to speak, and to my surprise, I could._

" _Rachel — we've got to get you out of here! Wake up!" I ran over to her and picked up her hand, my hand trying to find her pulse, and let out a sigh of relief when I felt a faint beat beneath my cold fingers. "Come on, Rachel, wake up…"_

 _And suddenly, she let out a breathy cough and opened her azure blue eyes. "Perce — no, the sn—" But she didn't finish, because the feminine voice I'd heard before echoed around me, much closer than before._

" _Yessss," the voice repeated. "I sssense her ssspirit leaving her, imbuing me with what was once my mother's… do not fret, child, once I have my old ssspirit in my body once more the girl will be gone." And into the clearing came the snake of my nightmares. The one that had dragged its fangs up and down my back in Tartarus. Just the image sent my hand flying to the scars._

 _I finally saw the entire snake. It must have been over ten feet long, thick and sleek, with a green tinge to its dark back patterns. The snake reached me and slid over my legs, showing its fangs in a threatening manner._

" _I give you a choice, as my lord has bid. Leave the girl to me, and I'll let you go. Ssstay, and you will die too."_

 _But it was hardly an option. The reality of life, of my living body asleep in a bed safe at Hogwarts, was pulling me out of the labyrinth of globes and back into darkness._

I didn't even want to tell anyone but Annabeth about my dream. I felt too sick to even deal with the horror of it all. Rachel's spirit — what did that even mean? — was apparently being sucked back into this snake's body. And Rachel was going to die. Soon.

"Percy, I don't think this actually happened," Annabeth pointed out. "I only believe it was a vision of a possible future. Look, Dumbledore would've already contacted us if he'd seen that Rachel was in that — um, place — but he hasn't. We wait for him to tell us something."

It gave me a horribly uneasy feeling, knowing that I had to place my trust so utterly in another person's hands, but it probably was the best option we had to get Rachel back.

* * *

"Well, would you look at _this_!" Hermione exclaimed brightly, pulling out the morning's _Daily Prophet_ edition and smoothing it out over the table. It was finally Friday after a very long, tough week and already the second day of March. "It looks like Skeeter's _finally_ published something good about Harry!"

I looked at the newspaper upside-down, which made my dyslexia impossible to deal with, but I eventually sorted out the words.

 **BOY-WHO-LIVED RECOUNTS THE NIGHT OF HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED'S RESURRECTION**

 _Harry Potter recently talked with Me, Myself and I in an exclusive interview about You-Know-Who's return to the Wizarding World. The Dark Wizard has been gone for over fourteen years, and is only now rumored to have been alive the entire time. Mr. Potter's interview with me gave us all the details on that fateful night. It occurred last spring, at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, which took place for the first time in a century at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

Following Rita Skeeter's intro was a long article about Harry's story on Voldemort's rise back to power.

"Hmm, I wonder how this could have happened, Hermione," speculated Harry, who obviously knew something we didn't. "Would this article happen to be the byproduct of a bit of blackmail?"

"Oh, I wouldn't call it blackmail," said Hermione innocently, twirling a strand of hair around her finger and smiling deviously. "Just an interview with lovely Miss Skeeter. An interview to which I brought large amounts of jars and a sweet smile."

Ron snorted, his mouth half-full of bacon.

"What's this all about?" Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Tell you later, not here," Hermione whispered discreetly. And so she did, later that night, tell us how she'd discovered Ms. Skeeter was an unregistered Animagus — a beetle. And she'd been using the fact that this could send Rita to Azkaban to get whatever she wanted published in the _Prophet_.

"Isn't that a bit hypocritical," I asked, "due to your best friend's position?"

"Oh, not at all. Don't worry, no one should ever find out." Hermione went back to her work with not another word.

Indeed, in the next few days, support for Harry (which had been quite extinct at the beginning of the year) increased dramatically from every house, including Slytherin. Hermione coerced Rita into writing another lovely article about the Chosen One, and people began congratulating Harry and respecting him more when they passed him in the hallways. Not to mention the attention he was getting at D.A. meetings (especially from the Creevey twins).

And I finally stopped worrying about Rachel and Voldemort and Chiron back at camp and the whole prophecy and began to enjoy the peace at Hogwarts. It seemed like it had been so long since I'd had a peaceful day in my life — probably since I was twelve, or before that — so I opted to savor the harmony and quiet that I knew would soon collapse.

It was one of the best weeks of my life, that peaceful week.

* * *

 **A/N: PM me with one-shot requests! Review, follow, favorite, all that good stuff!**

 **PeridotPi**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N:** **I don't even know what's going on in this chapter…**

 **POVs: Percy**

 _Disclaimer: I swear on the River Styx; I don't own anything._

* * *

Chapter 30

"Percy, we should talk." Annabeth spoke for the first time in hours. It was already past midnight, and we were the only ones left in the common room (excepting Hermione, who was snoring in an armchair on the other side of the room).

I set down my Potions chart. "What about?" my voice twittered nervously.

"Uh… hold up a sec…" She pointed her wand around us and muttered, " _Muffliato._ Alright." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Percy, you know how I've been going to McGonagall most days after class?" I nodded. Indeed, she had been spending three evenings a week in McGonagall's office. Or so she claimed (and I hoped). Sometimes, Harry was also out the same evenings, but neither would tell me what they'd been doing those evenings. "Well, after Harry's — well, you know, his Animagus thing — I don't know how to say this…"

"Annabeth, just spill it."

"Percy —" And then all her words rushed out so fast I heard nothing. "IskedgonguteamehowbecomAnimagus."

"Wise Girl. Slowww down. Take a breath. Now tell me again?"

She took a deep breath. "I asked McGonagall to teach me how to become an Animagus." She looked at me, her expression bright and yet apologetic.

At first the only thought I could register was shock. "Wha-why?"

And so she launched into her explanation. "Well, you see, I was looking over Hermione's copy of the prophecy, and I guess I just finally understood part of it, so I went and asked McGonagall."

"Annabeth?"

She took another breath. " _He'll take the form of one he fears, and show it to some of his peers. The one with blonde will understand, and will experience it first hand!_ Don't you see, Percy? The prophecy was talking about Harry becoming an Animagus — the form of one he fears! A snake! And then — _the one with blonde_ — that's me — _will experience it first hand_ — will also become an Animagus!"

It clicked in my head, if only slightly. "But Annabeth, there's no way to prove that was what the prophecy was mentioned —"

She was not deterred. "Don't you see, Seaweed Brain? I'm not letting the prophecy fulfill itself! _I'm_ fulfilling it!"

The idea that she may be wrong and that the prophecy might be mentioning a different "form" besides Animagi and a different blonde person crossed my mind, but I decided to not tell her that. Instead, I asked, "How long have you been doing this?"

She looked into my eyes guiltily. "Ummm, ever since the period of time when you were in the Hospital Wing in a coma…"

I frowned. She'd kept this from me for _that_ long? It'd been almost four whole months! "Wise Girl —" I scowled, but then made it up with a smile, "— you are the smartest, most stubborn and careless person I have ever met." And then I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her fully on the lips.

"Prrrcyyy," Annabeth complained playfully, her voice muffled by my lips, "it's latteee." I pulled away, keeping an arm around her shoulders, and sighed. She was right, of course. I hadn't finished my Potions chart, and it was due tomorrow. But I couldn't deny that both of us needed sleep — Annabeth's eyes had long been drooping; mine were exhausted. I couldn't even think of what I'd be doing if I was still on the Quidditch team — Ron and Ginny had been outside with a demanding Angelina for almost four hours, preparing for the upcoming match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

"Alright." I bent down and kissed the top of her head lightly, and she wrapped her arms around my waist. "Good night, Wise Girl."

"See ya tomorrow, Seaweed Brain." We headed up our respective staircases, Annabeth only pausing to deliberate whether or not she should wake Hermione. Once in the dormitory room, I extinguished all but one candle by my bedside and took off my school robes. I never turned around. I never noticed the very green eyes with slitted pupils staring at the bandages on my back. I never noticed the quiet hissing noise from the next bed over as I clambered into bed and left consciousness.

* * *

The next morning, I headed down to breakfast with extreme purple bags under my eyes and wondering what kind of a dream I had had last night. It hadn't been detailed, or complex, or riddling to my brain. No, I had slept almost all night with no dreams and then — _bam._ Right in front of me stood Nico di Angelo. And the dream hadn't even been a dream — it had been a sort of flash in the darkness of sleep. Just a flash of a pale, almost-yellow-skinned boy with dark eyes sunk into his face, shaggy black hair hanging limply to his shoulders. He had been wearing a black leather jacket and gloves, and a black t-shirt and his father's ring on his finger. I hadn't seen Nico in — well, a while — but I remembered him well.

The Nico had been only a flash, but enough seconds for me to see him extend his hand towards me and open his mouth. And then darkness again. Like, _what the Hades_ was that supposed to mean?

I didn't hesitate to tell Annabeth, who frowned in concern, but I didn't tell the Trio. And why would I? They didn't need to know more about _our_ world back in the U.S. Annabeth shrugged when I mentioned it to her, but I could see that she was trying to work out what it meant. "I had a dream too, Perce. It was _Thalia._ Kind of what you said, with just a flash of her face, but she looked so — distraught. I don't know. I'll see if I can figure out what it means."

I didn't like to doubt Annabeth, but I doubted that she would figure this out.

It was halfway through the next week that I was walking towards the Great Hall for dinner when a hand flashed out of a classroom way too quickly for my tastes and pulled me into the classroom. Whoever it was had a small hand — unusually small, the fingers barely touched each other around my arm — but a very strong grip. As soon as the door was shut, the person let go and I turned around to see who it was.

I wouldn't really have been surprised if it was Hermione or Ron or Harry or even Draco. But it wasn't any of those people. She had long, scraggly blond hair and very bright blue eyes, her hair parted at the ears by those unusual radish earrings and the bottle-cap necklace around her neck.

" _Luna?"_ I hissed quietly. "What're you doing here?" The girl wasn't even looking at me, but instead at the walls to her side.

"Infested with nargles, I see, I really should get daddy to send me some siphons —"

"LUNA."

She turned back to me. "Oh, yes. Hello Percy. How are you?"

I shrugged uncomfortably, confused. "Um — I'm fine. May I ask why you dragged me in here?" Luna's eyes widened with recognition.

"Well, you see, Ginny wanted me to ask you if you could talk to her. I don't know what she wants to discuss with you, but she said it was really important. About Rachel, I think." The younger girl sighed, and I tapped my foot in annoyance.

"So you dragged me in here to tell me Ginny wants to talk to me? Couldn't she just corner me herself?"

Luna was inspecting the walls again. "Oh, no, you see. Ginny didn't want anyone else to know," she said slightly dreamily, as if her mind were elsewhere. "Also, she couldn't really corner you when Annabeth is always around you."

"I just spent an entire hour studying in the common room by myself because Annabeth had Ancient Runes," I huffed. "She could've easily come talk to me."

"No, you see, she had Potions these past two hours. So she can't find time. But I didn't have a class, so she asked me. She said to meet her in the common room late tonight."

"Is that all? 'Cause I'm gonna go now."

"No, wait. Do you know when the next meeting for D.A. is?" Luna turned to me again.

"I'm afraid I don't. It should be soon, though. Check your Golden Galleon."

"Alright. Did you know your head is infested with wrackspurts? Bye, Percy." And she skipped out of the room. Only then did I notice she was running around barefoot, but Luna was gone before I could ask about it.

* * *

I was the only person left in the common room, my Herbology fact sheet spread out in front of me, after Annabeth said goodnight and headed up to bed. I had to wait fifteen more minutes before Ginny slipped down, and I was practically snoring. It was well past one in the morning.

"Percy!" she whispered, shaking me awake.

"Wedhogn?" I slurred in response.

She sat down and after performing a _Muffliato_ , began to talk. "Um, this is going to sound weird, but —"

"Just spit it out," I told her, yawning.

"Fine." She glared at me. "I had a dream about where Rachel was last night."

I was still groggy. I'd been having dreams too, but that didn't mean anything. "Go on."

"She was on a hill. Green grass, blue skies, and a tall pine tree on that hill. Um, there was also a dragon. I don't know what species, but when Rachel got near the tree, he growled at her."

Now I was alert. Rachel at Camp? How did she even get there?

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Just two kids. Both dark hair, one was wearing silver. I didn't get to see their faces." Ginny bit her lip, and I could see she was just as exhausted as I was.

"That's strange. I know the place you're talking about. Is this the first time you had any dream like this?"

"Yes," Ginny squeaked, slightly terrified.

"It's fine. I wouldn't worry about it. Leave that to me."

Ginny looked mollified. "Okay," she started uncertainly. "There's something else. I want to know the truth, Jackson."

I simply stared. "Um, what?"

"Why is Harry acting so weird? Why is Mione suddenly head-over-heels in love with _Malfoy,_ of all people? Why did Rachel disappear? What secrets are you keeping away from me?" Before I could even react, she continued. "And don't tell me it's nothing. Harry saved my dad's life, but he said that he'd _been_ the snake that attacked him in his own dream." And here, Ginny lowered her voice. "Is Harry possessed? By You-Know-Who?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, Gin. I'm almost 99 percent sure he's not being possessed."

"Are you sure?" She squinted at me. "It's hard to know that you're being possessed. I should know."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She sighed. "I knew _him_ as Tom. I was a first-year, stupid and susceptible. I wrote in that _wretched_ diary —" she spat the words out with venom "— every day. Tom was so charming. He understood me. Or at least I thought he did.

"I didn't even know that Tom was possessing me. I would wake up, not remembering where I'd been the past few hours, with my hands covered in my own blood and a deathly message written on the wall somewhere in the school. I opened the Chamber of Secrets without anyone suspecting it. And then, when Tom's diary was finally gone, I went home. My family asked me if I was fine, and of course I said yes. And they just moved on. As if it was _no big deal_ that I'd been _possessed_ by the Dark Lord. It scarred me. I still have nightmares about it. My family never gave me much attention after first year. They thought I was just a silly little girl who'd made a horrible mistake. Tom, well, he told me I could do great things, he told me there's no good or evil, but only power and those too weak to pursue it. But in the end, he only really thought I was a silly little girl who was entranced by a silly, little book."

Ginny's eyes were full of fire, so similar to Mrs. Weasley. "So if Harry is being possessed, he might not know it. Percy, tell me what's going on. I'm fourteen already. I'm not a kid anymore. I don't want to be left in the dark anymore."

After hearing Ginny's story, I really had no idea what to say to her. It totally made sense, though, that her family had moved on after she declared she'd been fine, even if Voldemort had used her. But I didn't think Harry was being possessed. His Animagus tale was not mine to share. And as for everything else going on at the moment — well, my mind was too jumbled to tell Ginny anything.

"Ginny, I understand your concern. I really do. But I don't believe Harry is being possessed. And if you want more details, it's not my story to share." Ginny looked furious. "Listen, Gin. I know that you think that he's _the Boy-Who-Lived_ and that you're not worthy of his attention. But you don't know what's going on inside his head. We know nothing of what he thinks of you." Ginny blushed. "I suggest that tomorrow, you get Luna to capture Harry instead of me and you tell him absolutely everything you just told me. He's not going to shut you out."

"How do you know _that?"_

"I don't know how. I just do." I bid Ginny good night, told her to get some sleep. For the second time, I was oblivious to the green eyes staring at me as I lay down in bed.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Well hello again!**

 **I got a review for the last chapter that was just waiting for some freaky plot twists to happen. And here they come. Some very non-canon plot twists.**

 **POV: Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It should be evidence enough that I am writing fanfic for it. The one thing I do own is FLUBBERWAX. It just popped into my head, don't ask._

* * *

Chapter 31

In the next few weeks, there came less and less times for Dumbledore's Army to meet. O.W.L.s were coming up for most of us, and we were all stressed out to the limit. Although it was fair to say Hermione was as stressed out as most of us combined.

I found myself constantly taking out the Galleon to see if there was a new date for a meeting; it was becoming increasingly difficult for Hermione and Annabeth to work out something. Finally, after two weeks of taking the Galleon out every couple of minutes, I stopped looking at it entirely.

It was nearing the end of one of the rainiest Marches Hogwarts had ever seen. Homework was worse than ever. It was one of these rainy nights, when I was staring at my Astronomy star chart without even seeing the dots and lines in front of me, that my hand decided of its own accord to pull out the one fake Galleon that never left my robe pocket. My eyes idly drifted to the golden coin, and I almost put it back in my pocket out of habit before my brain registered that the date on the coin had changed.

The Galleon now said, _April 3_ instead of _February 23._ I counted quickly in my head; April 3rd was this Saturday. Now all that was left to do was wait three more days. Three more days full of homework, classwork, more homework, and poring over the prophecy because Hermione demanded it of me.

Perhaps the most interesting thing that occurred over those three days was a strange, angry-sounding letter from Sirius. I'd been owling him frequently with all the news about everything, telling him how Rachel was missing, the D.A. was still going, Umbridge was trying to sack Hagrid and had already taken out Trelawney.

The only thing I'd left out all year was Percy and Annabeth's true origins. I'd even told Sirius about my accidental magic causing me to become an Animagus. His response had been overall enthusiastic but he'd warned me to keep it a secret. He hadn't said anything to my animal shape being a python, so I could guess it didn't make him too happy.

 _Harry,_

 _I just found out from a source (one I will not tell you, as they have asked me to keep their identity confidential) that Miss Dolores Umbridge has been treating you terribly this entire year. I am appalled to hear that she used a_ torture _device on you this term! It concerns me that you didn't even inform me that she'd done such a thing. Using a Blood Quill on a student is absolutely despicable. I am terribly sorry that this happened, and I want you to know that I am writing a letter to the Ministry at this moment to complain of such a thing._

 _The evil bitch should spend some time in Azkaban for torturing an innocent student like you in such a hideous manner. I will make sure that Fudge knows I've got Dumbledore on my side and am going to request to meet with him and Dumbledore this Saturday afternoon to discuss that toad's behavior. You, of course, will be coming._

 _Unfortunately, I do need Dumbledore on my side, though it appalls me that he couldn't have gotten any better teacher for that class or even canceled it completely. The hag — teaching at Hogwarts! And not to mention wandering all over the place to forbid absolutely anything against the Ministry from taking place. And firing teachers! Honestly, I didn't mind seeing Trelawney go, but trying to kick out Hagrid is not okay. Hopefully these most recent articles in the_ Prophet _will rile her. It must devastate her to know that Skeeter, probably one of her most adored pets, is siding with you (even if that's because Hermione has certain ways with certain people)._

 _Tell only Ron and Hermione about this letter. I don't quite yet trust Percy and Annabeth. Something just smells off about them. Especially now that Rachel's disappeared._

 _I love you, pup. See you soon._

 _Snuffles_

How Sirius had found out about the Blood Quill I had no idea, and I didn't think I wanted to know. I swallowed the terror that had been consuming me as I went through the letter. Sirius was ordering a meeting with _Fudge?_ The Minister was no doubt immediately to ask his guards to arrest Sirius. I loved Sirius, but this would be going too far.

On the back of the paper, I scribbled a small note to Sirius.

 _Padfoot,_

 _I really would rather you stay at home. This is not the time to go around meeting with the Minister of Magic._

I attached the note to the owl's leg, hoping that Sirius would heed my caution even though, deep down, I knew he wouldn't.

* * *

After I told Ron and Hermione of the letter as Sirius requested, the rest of the week passed sluggishly. Hermione was overly concerned about Sirius showing up at Hogwarts, and insisted I send him more letters telling him to stay at home. Ron was less so, but was still worried about him making an appearance in front of the Minister of Magic.

I worked fruitlessly on an essay on the properties and uses of flubberwax and fluxweed and ginger root for Snape. Before Hermione had checked out a book for us to use for research on the paper, I hadn't even heard of such a thing as _flubberwax._ Who would even name something so horrendously?

It all came together, of course, when Snape pulled out a long, weedy sort of root that looked to be made of snail slime and the vomit of slugs in Potions on Friday morning. Not to mention its ghastly yellow sticky covering. There really was no name fit for it _except_ for flubberwax.

Even though O.W.L. exams were a month and a half away, Hermione was already stressing out and creating study schedule for us. She was so hyperactive and nervous that Annabeth, of all people, sat her down in the common room one day and told her to _calm down_ before she exploded of nerves.

"Honestly, I'm not so jittery, and I have ADHD _and_ dyslexia," she muttered to herself, a wary gray eye kept on my bushy-haired friend. "Tone it down a little, Hermione. You're going to get all O's, I'm sure of it."

Hermione was only slightly reassured by the older, wiser girl's words. Annabeth aced all of her classes, even Defense, which shocked Hermione. "It's all about gaining someone's trust. Once they think you won't rebel against them, they'll favor you over the other students," Annabeth told Hermione when she'd asked how she got to be Umbridge's favorite, "and then they will trust you enough and start liking you more. Just think; if none of you had stood up to Umbridge that first day of school, she wouldn't hate you so much."

"But Annabeth; how could we simply do that? Not standing up to her will make her even more tyrannical," I whined uselessly in retaliation.

"Yes, but if you get on her good side she's less likely to, oh, I don't know, _kick you off the Quidditch team_ or make you _scar yourself?_ She's also more trusting, so she'd be less suspicious when it comes to things like the D.A." I stared at Annabeth with my mouth flopping open and closed like I was a fish. Annabeth smirked. "It's called strategy, Harry. You might want to try it sometime."

Percy covered his mouth and snickered. I turned red and looked back to my Astronomy charts to calculate the next lunar eclipse.

Saturday finally arrived, with it the promise of sunny skies and an eventful D.A. meeting. No one knew exactly how eventful it really would be. I reminded myself that I'd have to leave at some point during the meeting to go meet with Dumbledore, Sirius, Umbridge and Fudge (Sirius, as I'd expected, had ignored my advice and told me to hang tight). But at around 2 o'clock, I set off through the castle with Ginny and Ron. Hermione hung back with Percy and Annabeth, promising to leave ten minutes later so Umbridge would not catch fifteen of us traipsing through the halls and give us all detention.

Once everyone had arrived at the meeting, Percy and I split the group into two like we usually did. It was only when the magic-practicing group was splitting into pairs that I realized three heads were missing from the usual count; Draco and Rachel I knew were gone, but I couldn't figure out who else was missing.

Cho edged towards me, but I pretended to not notice her and went over to help Percy as he still struggled with his Patronus. "C'mon, Percy, happiest thought? What's your happiest thought?" Percy lowered his wand after another failed try and blushed insanely. I frowned, confused. Percy Jackson, blushing?

He muttered something. "What?" I asked him.

"Um, never mind. Happiest thoughts. Here we go again." Percy screwed up his face like Tonks did whenever she changed her appearance, and then exclaimed, " _Expecto Patronum! EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

Out of the tip of his wand flew a wispy, silver substance that looked somewhat like a memory. It burst forward, getting brighter and whiter. The Patronus started to form a shape until, suddenly, it collapsed and disappeared in wisps of silver.

"That's brilliant! It was almost corporeal! Keep working at it, Percy. Also try and practice your Shield Charms and Stunning Spells," I told him brightly. I didn't understand why after three months of work, Percy still couldn't summon a memory happy enough to make a corporeal Patronus. It was almost as if his Patronus were evading him. Already, Hermione, Annabeth, Luna, Ron and both Weasley twins had produced a full-form Patronus, in the forms of an otter, a hawk, a rabbit, a terrier, and two jackals respectively. Most of the class was indeed very close behind, but Percy was having the most trouble with it. I was tempted to ask him what he was using as his happiest memory, but given how he'd blushed today when I did, he wasn't quite up to sharing.

After half an hour had passed, I whispered to Ron and Hermione that I had to go meet with Dumbledore and Sirius. Hermione fretted but let me go. I made my way to the door discreetly, hoping that I looked like I was just walking down the line of duellers, and made to open the heavy door leading out of the Room of Requirement.

I knew immediately that I should have checked the Marauders' Map to see if anyone had been standing out there.

I was met by none other than a woman clad in pink, who had a look of absolute hatred and fury on her face and was pointing her wand directly at my face. Draco looked at me from behind her, throwing me a smug smile that was somehow also infused with apologies and rue. Next to her was the person I hadn't realized was missing from the meeting: Cho's friend Marietta. She was covering most of her face with her hands, but I could still see angry, inflamed boils full of pus just waiting to burst on her forehead and neck. No doubt those had popped up when she'd betrayed Hermione's contract and gone to tell Umbridge.

Umbridge grabbed my arm. " _Don't you dare,"_ she hissed venomously when I tried to reach for my wand.

She pointed her own wand at the door from which I'd just appeared (I realized now that to everyone but me it must simply look like a wall) and whispered, in her poisonously honey voice, " _Bombarda Maxima."_

The wall exploded, and all of Dumbledore's Army spewed out. I couldn't find anyone but Hermione, looking terrified, as she tried to edge towards me.

However, she was stopped by a very blond pureblood. "I don't think so, _Mudblood,"_ Draco said hatefully, pushing her back with a spell. Hermione's eyes widened at his use of the offensive name, but she grabbed her wand and threw up a Shield Charm before Malfoy finished his " _Petrificus Totalus."_

The shield hit Malfoy so hard that he flew through the air and hit the stone wall that had, barely three seconds ago, been debris and dust. The Room of Requirement had mended itself almost instantly.

Ron was nowhere in sight, though I thought someone yelled my name. The Weasley twins, who had refused to flee before Umbridge, were taking out as many Slytherins as they could with Dungbombs, Fanged Frisbees, and other odd inventions of their own. Luna was standing almost calmly in a corner, shooting spells around seemingly randomly.

Annabeth was striding up to Umbridge, who was still gripping my arm so hard it was painful, with a look of confusion on her face. Percy was behind her, looking almost as confused. His lack of acting skills was the only thing that prevented me from falling for their act. I almost fell for it when Annabeth said, "Professor, what's going on?"

Umbridge shrieked at her. "You know bloody well what, Miss Chase. You, Mr. Jackson, and your little friends have been having meetings behind my back to learn defensive spells. Miss Edgecomb here told me so."

Annabeth's confused look remained. "What? I was just walking through the corridors with Percy and we both heard screaming, so we got up here as fast as I could. Did something explode?"

Umbridge blinked rapidly, flabbergasted by Annabeth's alibi. Finally, she sputtered, "Yes, it did. I'd like for you to accompany me if you would. Both of you, Mr. Jackson. We have to visit the Headmaster's office."

Umbridge did not delay in leaving the scene, dragging me along behind her, her pink nails digging into my arm. Marietta followed close behind, looking terrified, while Percy and Annabeth walked next to her and sent me apologetic looks.

When we reached the gargoyle, Umbridge growled, "Whizzing Fizzbee." The gargoyle jumped aside, and she hurried onto the stairs. My head was spinning as fast as the stairs. It was not until the stairs had stopped spinning in tight circles and Umbridge had burst into Dumbledore's office without so much as a knock that she finally let go of me.

"Dumbledore! This is an urgent matter — i-is that —" she stopped, taking in the scene before her before yelling out, "Well, what are you doing standing there, Albus? Arrest him!"

And she pointed a grubby finger to the man standing in the middle of Dumbledore's office: Sirius Black. Sirius, once catching sight of the woman, had looked at her murderously. Not, I thought, a good way to enforce the idea that he wasn't a mass murderer.

"Hello, Dolores. I'm afraid that there is no arresting to be done today —"

"Unless it's her," Sirius muttered.

"— and that you might want to be quiet and take a seat. The Minister is due any time now…"

And just as he said it, the Minister popped his head out of the fireplace and walked into Dumbledore's study. "Minister!" Umbridge exclaimed, looking from him to Dumbledore to Harry to Sirius and back again.

Fudge did not hear her. " _Sirius Black_? Dumbledore, are you out of your mind?"

"I am afraid I am not. Please have a seat. Would you like a Whizbee?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly from his seat. Fawkes the phoenix let out a soft coo and settled on his perch. Sirius reached a hand over and stroked his red feathers, and Fawkes let out a content sound, like a soft, melodical flutter.

"Albus, I will not have a seat in your office while a convicted mass murderer is in here too. Why hasn't he been arrested and sent back to Azkaban already?"

Sirius spoke up before Dumbledore could. His face was deathly pale and he looked slightly sick. "Because, _Minister_ , I am _not_ a convicted mass murderer. Unbeknownst to you and most of the wizarding world, I never received a trial after the deaths of my best friends. I was sent directly to Azkaban, where I rotted for twelve undeserved years before escaping. So I suggest you sit down, Minister, before I do carry out what I was unfairly accused of fourteen years ago. If anyone should be getting arrested, it should be this ugly toad right here." He pointed at Umbridge, who squeaked.

Sirius' eyes were murderous as he stared down Fudge. The Minister looked utterly perplexed, but did not say a word as he sat down in a chair transfigured by Dumbledore.

"Dolores, it has recently come to mine and Mr. Black's attention that you have been carrying out illegal acts within my school," Dumbledore said, ever calmly.

"Such as?" she sniffed, her nose turned up.

"Harry, if you would please come sit over here. Miss Chase, Mr. Jackson, Miss Edgecomb you are excused." Percy and Annabeth glanced at me before turning around and leaving after Marietta (who was still holding hands over her face). I walked over to sit by Sirius.

Sirius, without asking to, pulled out my right hand and pushed it onto the table. "Such as _this_ ," he said, pointing at the red scars on the back of my hand. "As far as I know, the use of a Blood Quill as detention for a student at Hogwarts is undeniably unexcusable."

Umbridge paled. "Dolores?" Fudge asked, shocked. "You made Harry write that?" The woman said nothing, silently affirming what Sirius had accused her of.

"It recently came to my attention — and not by Harry, no, so don't even think about punishing him — that you had used a Blood Quill early on in the year to make Harry write this into his own hand. Apparently, Harry wrote this line over and over for hours for more than five detentions. This is despicable. Making him write _I must not tell lies_ into his own flesh because he told you the truth?"

"No, a lie!" Umbridge shrieked.

"If you are referring to the fact that Voldemort is back, well, that is the truth. I don't care what you think on this matter, Fudge," Sirius snapped as the Minister opened his mouth. "He has returned, there is proof I've seen with my very own eyes. And if you don't want to accept that, you might as well send another unconvicted, innocent soul to Azkaban for _twelve years_ again.

"And whether Harry told the truth or not, there was absolutely no reason for you to give him detention, much less reason to use a Blood Quill on him in said detention. It is a Dark artefact that you used on my godson, and I will make sure you pay for doing such a hideous thing to him. I know enough about Dark objects, as I grew up in a Dark family. I was tortured by many of those objects, and I don't want any of them ever touching my godson. You should be ashamed of yourself for doing such a horrible thing to an innocent child."

I wanted to retort that I was not a child to Sirius, but I was immensely glad that he was fighting my case. I was glad he was here, out of hiding for once, telling the truth. Fawkes got up from his perch and did a little flying hop to Sirius's shoulder. My godfather pet him kindly, and the phoenix rubbed his head against Sirius' cheek.

Suddenly, Umbridge shrieked in pain. The sleeve of her pink blouse had blossoming pools of red in it. She yanked the fabric back to see what had happened, and the newly formed scars were visible to everyone. Fudge gasped and turned white.

 _I must not deny the truth._

Although I knew it was horrible, I did not feel sorry for Umbridge. She deserved that.

Apparently, Sirius thought so too. "Let's just say that you got less than you deserved. At least I didn't make you write it into your arm again and again."

Dumbledore looked appalled. "Sirius, that was unnecessary and uncalled for. There are other, less violent ways of dealing with these issues."

"Perhaps, but I don't see _you_ doing anything to help. If this hag isn't taught a lesson, she's going to keep spreading her own lies. I am very appreciative of all you've done, Dumbledore, but I am extremely upset that you were not able to catch this at all. I am horrified that you have done _nothing_ while this woman has all but taken over Hogwarts. The Ministry is controlling you, spreading lies, and here you are unable to find _anyone_ to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts besides a no-good Ministry toad!"

Dumbledore, to my surprise, shrank back from Sirius' hateful words. I tugged on his sleeve gently. "Sirius, that's enough."

"Quite agreed, Mr. Potter," Fudge interrupted. "Although I am appalled at what Dolores here has done, I cannot agree with what Mr. Black here has done in retaliation."

Sirius snarled at him. "Perhaps you would have done the same thing, Fudge, if you'd been locked up in Azkaban for a crime you did not commit for twelve years with two Dementors outside your cell twenty-four hours a day." It was not the first time he'd mentioned his sentence in wizarding prison, and I was sure he was doing it for a reason. Still, every time Sirius mentioned Azkaban, I wanted to hug him and give him all he'd missed those countless years in a cell.

The Minister of Magic paled.

"Cornelius, I'm afraid that I cannot allow such behavior to keep going on at my school. Dolores has upset the balance, fired my own teachers, and disbanded clubs. I know that you are afraid of a so-called 'Dumbledore's Army' that will try to overtake the Ministry, but all these students have been doing is teaching themselves how to fight if, indeed, Lord Voldemort does try to attack Hogwarts."

Before Fudge could say anything, I blurted out, "Wait! You _knew?_ You _knew_ about Dumbledore's Army?"

"Yes, Harry. As I've told you countless times before, I have eyes all over the castle. I'm highly capable of a Disillusionment Charm. Although, I must admit, I have so far been stumped as to _where_ exactly your 'Army' has been meeting.

"But that's besides the point. Cornelius, I don't have another choice but to sack Dolores. Although, since it is so near the end of the term, I shouldn't do so. However, I can assure you that she, along with any other Ministry worker, will _not_ be teaching at Hogwarts again."

Sirius, who had been picking at his fingernails, muttered, "Oh, so _now_ you act."

Fudge straightened up, trying to look as important as possible. "I can't disagree with you, Albus, after the evidence seen on Harry's hand today. However, she _will_ continue to teach and will test all the students on Ministry-approved material."

Dumbledore nodded. "I would expect no less. However, I must ask you to revoke her rights as, what was it called? Ah, yes — 'the Hogwarts High Inquisitor'. I do not care what the Ministry thinks of my teachers, Fudge. The Ministry has no right meddling around Hogwarts and its students. Every single 'Educational Decree' passed by Miss Umbridge will be repealed. 'Dumbledore's Army' should continue to meet if they wish to. Although, Harry," Dumbledore said, turning to me, "I do suggest that you change the name, as I am quite unpopular in the wizarding world right now." I nodded.

"And if the Ministry fails to complete these simple tasks, I can simply leak out that infamous murderer Sirius Black was never given a trial, never convicted of anything, and was sent to Azkaban in such a position," Sirius added menacingly.

Fudge was taken aback at the threat that held more weight than I thought it would. "Er, y-y-yes. I will contact Kingsley to make sure all rights and decrees are revoked." He did not look at Umbridge as she stared open-mouthed at him. "I will also contact Amelia Bones to set up a trial for Mr. Black as soon as possible. No one is to know of this meeting."

Dumbledore nodded warmly, but Sirius hesitated before stiffly copying the headmaster.

Fudge stood up, wringing his hands, his face shrunken in a way. "Good day, Albus. I hope Hogwarts does not have trouble the rest of term." He turned to the pink-clad professor. "Dolores, it sincerely hurts to see that you have been using illegal objects on students here. I will take you out of Hogwarts should another such issue arise.

"Good seeing you, Harry." He shook my hand. And without another word, Fudge hobbled over to Dumbledore's fireplace and stepped into green fire, disappearing.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope I didn't confuse anyone!**

 **Please review!**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: I got an overwhelmingly positive response for the last chapter, so thanks to everyone!**

 **There's a new one-shot on my page, called "A Bundle of Sticks is not Easily Broken". Go check it out!  
**

 **POV: Harry**

 _Disclaimer: *slow clap for Riordan and Rowling*_

* * *

Chapter 32

Of course, everyone was demanding an explanation of what had happened that afternoon with the D.A. when I walked through the portrait hole into the common room. "Look," I told all the Gryffindors in Dumbledore's Army, "I can't give you any details. Dumbledore forbade me to. But don't worry, it should be in the _Prophet_ tomorrow or Monday."

"Blimey, mate. What the hell happened so important that it has to be announced by Skeeter?" said Dean skeptically.

"Can we continue with Dumbledore's Army?" asked Ginny.

"At the moment, we can, but we should maybe wait another week before having another weekend," I told them before retiring to work on a massive amount of homework. Of course, I relayed the entire conversation to Ron, Hermione and the demigods.

"Who d'you think told Sirius about the Blood Quill, though? Nobody really knows about it besides us," Ron speculated.

Hermione's look of shock told me she hadn't told Sirius, but the demigods, especially Annabeth, were much harder to trust after I'd seen them act innocent in front of Umbridge earlier.

"I swear it wasn't either of us. We would have told you if we sent that information to Sirius," Annabeth claimed. I nodded, but wasn't so sure inside.

We worked on homework for another couple of hours before it was dinner. Umbridge was not seated at the professors' table, causing many to wonder where she'd gone. Whispers and silent conversations were all about the hall that night.

At half-past seven, Ron and Hermione left the common room for a two-and-a-half-hour patrol of the corridors, just like Annabeth said they would. She'd been trying to plan for another private "lesson" with McGonagall, and I was invited to tag along again this time. Since Percy had been hit by lightning, Annabeth had asked me about becoming an Animagus. I'd told her she should go talk to McGonagall if she really was interested, and she did. McGonagall had started giving her lessons and books to read about becoming an Animagus. Annabeth had also written several letters to Sirius, as I'd told her he was an Animagus. She asked him for all the advice she could get, and Sirius easily took a liking to her. Now, McGonagall was sincerely teaching her to become an Animagus. It was nearing eight when Annabeth and I stood up to go.

"Where're you going?" Percy asked.

"McGonagall's. Remember about my 'lessons'?" Annabeth told him. I looked at her, shocked. When had she told Percy? Though, when I thought about, I really shouldn't be so shocked. Those two told each other everything.

"Right. Well, I think in like half an hour I'll go down to the Hospital Wing. I want to ask Pomfrey if I can get the bandages switched again." He winced and lowered his voice so that the nearby Lavender and Parvati couldn't hear. "They're starting to hurt again and they haven't stopped bleeding since December. I'll ask if I can get a few more Blood Replenishing potions."

"Yeah, good idea. See you later, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth leaned over to give him a kiss on the head before the two of us headed out of the common room.

I knocked on the familiar wooden door, and heard McGonagall say, "come in."

Annabeth looked at me before opening the door and walking in.

The office was changed as it had been for the past three times I'd tagged along; McGonagall's desk was pushed to one side and all other furniture was gone, leaving a large space in the middle of the room to work.

"Well," said Professor McGonagall, peering at us above her square glasses, "Sit down, Mr. Potter. Miss Chase, I trust you've been studying extensively?"

Annabeth walked up to McGonagall. "Oh, yes, Professor. Read through every book you've given me, and even started with a bit of the process like you told me."

McGonagall eyed the blonde with pride, but also a bit of wariness. "I hope you understand how dangerous this process is?"

"Yes, Professor. But I believe that if Professor Dumbledore taught you, you can teach me."

McGonagall stood up, putting down her book. "Very well, Miss Chase. We will begin now."

I sat and tried to seem out of the way and less awkward than I felt, and was relieved when McGonagall told me to stand up again. "Mr. Potter, we will, of course, need you to help out."

"How?" I stood up.

"Well, for starters, you can explain how you fell into the realm of Animagi yourself. If there is any way for you to do it." McGonagall's stern expression was enough to say that I'd _better_ do it.

So I took a breath. "Well, I s'pose, I was just talking in parseltongue, reaching out to the quetzalcoatl," (McGonagall looked slightly surprised but said nothing) "and I was just, I dunno, just looking at it in the eyes and I felt slightly disconnected from the world and it just happened."

McGonagall looked at me. "You say you felt disconnected from the world, but you were not disconnected from the language you were speaking and from the monster in front of you?"

"Well, I'd say that was more or less the _only_ thing that was connecting me to the world."

She turned back to Annabeth. "To become an Animagus, as you should know from the reading, you need extensive and exclusively deep connections with the animal it is. However, as most wizards and witches do not know what kind of animal they will become, that is a bit difficult for them."

Annabeth waited, obviously confused as to what McGonagall was hinting at.

"Miss Chase, would you happen to be able to produce a Patronus? And not just mist, but a corporeal, fully-formed Patronus?"

Annabeth nodded; I'd seen her do it the last few times at the D.A. meetings, and her Patronus was a sort of hawk or eagle.

McGonagall gestured at the space in front of her, and Annabeth, getting the clue, pulled her wand from her back pocket and breathed for a second before saying, confidently, " _Expecto Patronum_." A blue-ish silver bird flew out of the tip of her wand, immediately flying in tight circles around the girl who had cast it. I saw that I'd been wrong at first; it was not an eagle or a hawk, but a smaller falcon.

McGonagall watched the bird with obvious pleasure in her eyes. "Now, Miss Chase, for most wizards and witches — not all, like Mr. Potter — but for most, their Patronus is the same shape as their Animagus form. So your form will most likely be a peregrine falcon or something of the sort."

Annabeth didn't look displeased, but she did look surprised. I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd been expecting to take the form of an owl. "Okay," she started cautiously.

"Very well. Miss Chase, we will begin with a simple exercise. All that you need to do right now is clear your mind completely of any thoughts. Make it a blank black or a blank white, whichever you prefer."

Annabeth, to my surprise, did not close her eyes like I thought she would or the way _I_ would've, but kept them wide open while obeying McGonagall's instructions, and then nodded.

"Good. Envision a peregrine falcon in your mind, still keeping it clear of all other thought."

Annabeth nodded once more.

"Now, envision that peregrine falcon with some very clear characteristic of yours."

I jumped backwards in shock at what happened next. For right after McGonagall said this, Annabeth sprouted feathers on her shoulders. Nothing else happened, no beak, no tail, no wings. Just the sudden spurt of gray and white, black-speckled feathers on her shoulders, looking like the sleeves of a strange t-shirt. They popped right through her school outfit.

McGonagall, though she hadn't jumped backwards like I had, stiffened. She looked like she'd just received a particularly sharp and hard slap to the face when the feathers grew so spontaneously. The professor straightened her glasses. "Very well done, much earlier than I expected." She straightened her glasses again, though they were perfectly straight on her nose. "Now, of course, you'll want to keep those feathers hidden until they disappear, as they may take several weeks to fade back. It should not be too difficult, both with the human transfiguration we've studied in class and your robes."

McGonagall looked more shell-shocked than I'd ever seen her, even more so than she had been when she caught me flying without Madam Hooch in the area as a first year. She turned to me. "Mr. Potter, it would be prudent would you leave now. There are a few more private things to be discussed. However, before you leave," she caught my arm, "I want to remind you of my strong advisement to register as an Animagus at the Ministry. Of course, I wish you to say the same thing to your godfather."

I gaped. "H-how did you —?"

Professor McGonagall gave me one of her rarer smiles. "I knew your father, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew better than they even knew. I know the telltale signs of an Animagus, as I should, being one myself."

"B-but you never told anyone —!"

"There was no reason to do so. And to this day, I'm extremely glad I did not. If I had, Mr. Black wouldn't have escaped Azkaban, and he would not be facing freedom now." I gaped again. "So, Mr. Potter, I strongly recommend signing up at the Ministry."

"Professor, with all due respect, the Ministry is not quite favoring me at the moment. I also think it would be wise to keep this information from Voldemort."

Professor McGonagall winced but nodded. "I understand. Now, I'll see you in class on Monday. Good night."

I left the office, not looking at Annabeth as I did. Out of the corner of my eye, though, I could see the dark gray feathers coating her shoulders. I smiled despite myself and headed back to the common room.

* * *

I yawned earnestly, spread-eagled across the couch in front of the dying fire. Ron had given up studying about an hour after he returned from his Prefects' rounds with herself had gone upstairs, taking about fifteen books with her to study in bed. Annabeth and Percy had returned around the same time, Percy wincing from the fresh healing salve and bandages that had been wrapped around his torso. _Bleeding won't stop, and it doesn't look like it will anytime soon,_ he'd told me. I wondered how many Blood-Replenishing potions he'd have to take before the scars sealed up. It must have been horrible Dark Magic to scar him in such a way that didn't stop bleeding after almost five months of bandages and salves and potions. Still, Percy would not tell anyone about what had scarred him so permanently. I didn't think he'd even told Annabeth, though I couldn't tell that for certain.

Apparently, McGonagall was unable to (or refused to) reverse the gray feathers on Annabeth's shoulder, though she promised she'd hide them with a partial Disillusionment Charm until they receded in a couple of weeks.

I took a small glance at the grandfather clock in the corner. It was past twelve-thirty in the morning.

 _Tick, tock. Crickle crackle._ The sounds from the clock and the fire, and from Percy's cat Poseidon purring on the plush pouf by the window, caused my brain to shut down against my own will, and I felt lulled by all the soft, comforting noises of home...

"Harry?" A sudden, familiar voice broke through the haze of my brain and I startled. I'd been so close to sleep, but _noooo._

Still, when I saw the origin of the voice, I straightened my glasses and unconsciously ran my hand through my hair. It was Ginny, in a warm, dark brown robe.

"G-Ginny. What're you doing out of the dorm so late?"

She raised her eyebrow and sat down next to me, arms crossed. "I could ask you the same thing." I nodded; there was no denying it.

"What is it?" I asked her, gathering up all my parchment papers that would just have to wait. She shrugged, biting her lip in hesitancy. "It's okay, go ahead." I had to admit that I felt awkward, sitting in the common room at past one in the morning, talking with Ron's little sister, but she obviously wanted to tell me something.

"Well, I talked with Percy the other day. I know there's something going on that you're all leaving me out of. I want to know what's going on, Harry. I want to know why, instead of just having a vision of You-Know-Who's snake attacking Dad, you _were_ the snake."

"I don't really know the answer to that, Ginny. I really wish I hadn't had to see it that way, but I did and I couldn't control it," I told her truthfully. Surprisingly, it didn't feel all that awkward, spilling my secrets to Ginny. It only felt natural.

"I understand, Harry," she said, leaning forward and putting a hand on my knee that sent jolts up my spine, "I'm just scared."

I couldn't help it. "Why?" She breathed shallowly, not looking at my eyes. "Why are you scared, Ginny?"

"I-I don't know. I just — do you think you might be being possessed?"

Suddenly I understood. No wonder Ginny was so worried. She'd been possessed herself in first year, by the Dark Lord. Though now that I thought about it, no one had really been that concerned about the diary possessing her.

I wanted to tell her that no, I was not being possessed by Voldemort, but was there really a way to prove that? I wanted desperately to say so, but I really could be possessed at this very moment. I knew that Animagi got their form from their personalities, and I couldn't see anything in my personality that related to a venomous python. Maybe it _was_ Voldemort, inside me, seeing everything I did.

Now _there_ was a terrifying thought.

Ginny was still waiting. "I don't think so, Ginny. I think I would know, probably by the pains in my scar, if I was being possessed." That was mostly a lie, but there was no way I was going to tell her I didn't know whether or not I was secretly controlled by Voldemort.

Ginny wasn't so sure. "Harry, I was possessed first year and I had no idea. I'd forget about a certain period of time, like falling under an enchantment without knowing, and would wake up covered in my own blood. I knew something was going on, something weird, but I really had no clue I was _possessed."_

"No one ever told you what happened?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. "You didn't go talk to a doctor or anything and figure it out?"

Ginny looked at me sadly. "No."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed, a tired and frustrated sound. "I kind of just… went home after first year. After the diary was gone. My parents knew about the Chamber of Secrets, had been informed that I'd been manipulated into opening it, but basically all that happened was that I got home and Mum asked if I was okay and then when I said I was, like anyone would, she forgot about it completely. None of my brothers even cared, I don't think."

All I could do was stare. Ginny had never received any help from a mediwizard or _anyone_ at all, even her family?

"You should have gotten help! After being possessed by the darkest wizard in all of history for months, your family moved along with just a simple 'fine'?"

She could only nod. I was scared to see tears welling up in her eyes, though that was the only sign of her despair.

I put my hand to my head. "I had no idea, Ginny. You really should have gotten professional assistance after something that scarring. And as an eleven-year-old, none the less."

She moved her hand to my arm. Jolts ran up my spine again, but I tried not to show it. "You're one to talk. Hermione told me about your 'family'; they sound horrible."

Without thinking, I said, "You don't know the least of it. I lived in a cupboard for seven years."

Now it was Ginny's turn to gape at me. "They _what?_ " I tried to take it back, but Ginny was already red with fury. "You lived in a _cupboard_ for _seven years_? Did you tell anyone?"

I sighed in defeat. "No. After they started sending me Hogwarts letters, they moved me to a bedroom. Before that, the only home I knew was under the stairs, in the cupboard full of spiders."

"What else did they do to you? Starve you?" Ginny's eyes were alit with a fierceness I'd never seen in her before.

"No," I said. "Sometimes I got caught using accidental magic and they locked me in my cupboard for days."

Suddenly, I felt arms being thrown around my neck. Ginny hugged me fiercely, and I slowly responded by placing my hands on her back gently. "I'm so sorry, Harry. You didn't deserve that, any of it."

"Why are _you_ sorry? You didn't do anything to me except ask me if there was anything possessing me out of concern."

Ginny slowly stiffened, realizing she'd launched herself onto me, before withdrawing. "Sorry," she sniffed, wiping tears out from under her eyes. I didn't respond, out of lack of knowing how to. "You must be incredibly stressed out, with O.W.L.s and You-Know-Who back, and here I am, bugging you…"

"You're not bugging me," I said, almost reflexively. "You're worried about me. I understand that, Ginny. Don't be sorry." She looked up at me again, wiping the last tears away. In that moment, I found myself desperately wanting to tell Ginny about my Animagus capabilities, and then I realized — _no._ There were enough people who knew as it was. If word got to the Ministry — if word got to _Voldemort_ that I was an Animagus, there would be no hesitation to use that information against me. Besides, telling Ginny would only make her more worried about me and convince her that Voldemort was possessing me through the odd connection we had with my scar.

Ginny was still looking at me with kind amber eyes, so much like Mrs. Weasley's. I shut down the urgent desire to tell her and instead turned away. "You should get some sleep, and so should I."

She pursed her lips, evidently disappointed that I'd told her almost nothing, and stood up.

"Good night, Harry." And she swished her brown robe up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

"Good night, Ginny," I whispered after her, even though she'd already gone and I was the only one to hear it.


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: An early update for you. Reviews are infinitely appreciated!**

 **POV: Harry**

 _Disclaimer: This chapter has direct scenes and dialogue from the Order of the Phoenix, which I own not. I also don't own Rick Riordan's masterpiece._

* * *

Chapter 33

 _SIRIUS BLACK NEVER CONVICTED — TO RECEIVE TRIAL IN WIZENGAMOT COURT!_

 _Yesterday at around five in the afternoon, Sirius Black made an appearance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! He was to meet with Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, and Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge over what was later revealed to be an "important issue" debating the legality of Professor Dolores Umbridge's actions at Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Dumbledore, Black, and the Minister are refusing to give information on this "issue" thus so far, but word has leaked out that it has something to do with Mr. Harry Potter._

 _Of course, the Minister was intent on arresting Black, until he found out that the supposedly escaped murderer had never actually received a fair trial in court. Black was simply taken to Azkaban without conviction on the fateful night of October 31, 1981, the day He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was defeated. Now, of course, the Minister has taken it upon himself to ensure Black a fair trial in front of the Wizengamot in three weeks' time. He is not the only one shocked and horrified that an innocent Black was sent to Azkaban; now, the rest of the Wizarding world is doubting the Ministry's words more than ever._

 _Another piece of information that Me, Myself and I was able to collect on this dismal meeting was that Miss Dolores Umbridge, who currently teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, has been revoked of her rights as the "Hogwarts High Inquisitor"._

 _Ever since last fall, when the Ministry gave her the title of the High Inquisitor, Miss Umbridge has been interviewing teachers, overseeing classes, and has even laid off the Divination professor, Sybill Trelawney. Educational Decrees passed by her were enforced all throughout Hogwarts for the entire year. Now, though, Fudge has taken those privileges away for the supposed "illegal" actions carried out by his own assistant in the Ministry. All of the actions enforced or prohibited by the Decrees have since been taken away from the halls of Hogwarts._

 _These actions by the Ministry leave the world in question and in doubt. What else could the Ministry of Magic be keeping a secret? What else has it lied about to the people? Now, we wonder if it is time to stop trusting in our Ministry and find our own truths._

 _(For more information on the defeat of You-Know-Who, pg 7)_

 _(For more information on Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, pg 9)_

* * *

The school was in absolute outrage when hundreds of copies of the _Prophet_ fell upon breakfast the next morning. Well, maybe _outrage_ wasn't quite the right word. Most people, especially those brought up in wizarding families, were shocked that the Ministry had lied about Sirius Black getting a trial and being convicted for allying with Voldemort and killing my parents, a group of muggles, and Peter Pettigrew.

As for the news about Umbridge, only a select few from Slytherin House were extremely offended and upset to hear she had been stripped of power. The rest of us rejoiced at this, and celebrated again when Dumbledore made an announcement at breakfast. Umbridge was not in the hall when he did, but we assumed she was already informed. Dumbledore had taken enough measures to make Sirius happy; he'd prohibited Umbridge from assigning detentions, and she could only take off or award points when it was reasonable.

Sirius owled me later that day. He was simply overjoyed to hear that Umbridge had been put in her rightful place. Surprisingly enough, he didn't care that much about his court case.

 _As long as everyone knows the truth, Harry, I'll be fine. I'll definitely go to the trial, but it doesn't matter that much to me._

I, of course, was possibly the most excited for Sirius' trial. I knew from his letter that Remus was going, as were many of the Weasleys, and I was invited if I could manage to get out of classes for one Friday. I didn't know how they were going to testify that Sirius wasn't a murderer without bringing in Peter Pettigrew, but the idea struck me that they could have a stock at Veritaserum at the Ministry.

On the other end of the spectrum was figuring out who'd told Rita Skeeter about the meeting between Dumbledore, Sirius and Fudge yesterday. I highly suspected Hermione, as it wouldn't be the first time she'd bribed Skeeter and given her information anonymously, but I hadn't told her all the minor details. It was more likely the person who'd told Sirius that Umbridge had been using a Blood Quill on me, and I was not getting any closer to figuring out who that was.

Thankfully, Rita had not mentioned anything about Dumbledore's Army, so we could continue without a hitch.

The next week passed rather quietly without Umbridge strolling the halls like she owned the place, and then it was the Easter holidays. Hermione had spent an entire day drawing up study schedules for Ron, me and herself, as Percy and Annabeth refused profoundly. O.W.L. exams were in only six weeks, and she was beside herself. We'd let her do it, because otherwise she'd flip out and in any case they might prove themselves useful.

On that Sunday evening, Ron and Ginny turned up with a package from Mrs. Weasley containing Easter eggs for everyone. Percy's and Annabeth's were covered in simple designs, as Mrs. Weasley hadn't known them very well, but mine had little golden Snitches on it, Ron's was covered in Quidditch hoops and Quaffles, Hermione's had little books and perfect cursive writing and Ginny's — well, I didn't quite know what, but Ginny's eggs looked like they were tie-dyed or something of the sort.

Soon before the end of the holidays came to an end, the Gryffindor common room became swamped with pamphlets, leaflets and notices about several different Wizarding careers and a notice on the board.

 **CAREERS ADVICE**

 **All fifth years will be required to attend a short meeting with their Head of House during the first week of the Summer term, in which they will be given the opportunity to discuss their future careers. Times of individual appointments are listed below.**

Apparently, my meeting with McGonagall was that Monday in the morning, so I'd miss a lot of Divination. We spent most of the rest of that weekend reading through all the pamphlets about the careers.

"Well, I don't fancy Healing," said Ron, immersed in a pamphlet that carried the crossed bone-and-wand emblem of St. Mungo's on the front. "It says here that you need at least an E at N.E.W.T. level in Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I mean… blimey… don't want much, do they?"

"Well, it's a very responsible job, isn't it?" said Hermione absently. She was poring over a bright pink-and-orange leaflet that was headed SO YOU THINK YOU'D LIKE TO WORK IN MUGGLE RELATIONS? "You don't seem to need many qualifications to liaise with Muggles… All they want is an O.W.L. in Muggle Studies… ' _Much more important is your enthusiasm, patience, and a good sense of fun!'"_

"Yeah, but I think you'd need more than that, maybe a good sense of when to duck if you're liaising with my Uncle Vernon…" I muttered.

"What are you interested in, Harry?" Hermione asked me then, not looking up from her study materials. She'd already read through everything.

"I-I dunno," I answered only slightly truthfully. "Maybe an Auror. How 'bout you?"

"See, I've been looking through it all, but I don't really know. There's so many things that I could be. Maybe a mediwizard, or a teacher. I'm not sure quite yet, but I'm looking forward to meeting with McGonagall."

"Hey, listen to this: ' _Are you seeking a challenging career involving travel, adventure, and substantial, danger-related treasure bonuses? Then consider a position with Gringotts Wizarding Bank, who are currently recruiting Curse-Breakers for thrilling opportunities abroad…'_ They want Arithmancy, you could do it!"

"If I fancied banking," Hermione said vaguely.

The demigods were utterly surprised to find out there were so many jobs for wizards and witches, but when I asked them what they were going to do after Hogwarts, Percy said, "We're most likely not coming back to the Wizarding world, Harry."

"We'll just settle down — if such a thing is possible for someone like us — and find a job in the mortal world. Y'know?" Annabeth added with a very slight British accent. The months spent here were affecting her language. "Maybe it _will_ be possible to settle down, Seaweed Brain, now that we know magical spells to repel monsters."

He slung an arm around her shoulder casually. "Sure, Wise Girl. It really _would_ be nice to get away from all these quests and such for a while, don't you think?" The time surrounded by British people had not affected Percy; he retained his everlasting American accent.

Their love for each other never ceased to amaze me. The relationship they shared was the most mature one between two teenagers that I'd ever seen. They were so used to each other, you could hardly call them boyfriend and girlfriend — they seemed like more than that. I could only hope that I'd find someone for me who I would love and who would love me like Annabeth and Percy did.

It was when I found myself dwelling on these thoughts that I told myself to snap out of it. What was I doing, obsessing over couples whose relationship had nothing to do with me?

I was slowly losing my mind. Ginny's comment that I could be possessed by the Dark Lord was not really helping my sanity either.

* * *

Careers' advice with McGonagall was more comfortable that I'd expected it to be. She told me to sit down as soon as I entered her office. I was half-expecting to see Umbridge there with her quill and notes until I remembered what had happened to her.

"Well, Mr. Potter, today's meeting is to discuss future career options to help you choose your school subjects in sixth and seventh year. Have you thought about where you want to go after you leave Hogwarts?"

"Er," I started off stupidly, "well, maybe become an Auror."

"You'll need top grades for that, Potter," she said crisply, "they only accept those with a minimum of five N.E.W.T.s, all no lower than an Exceeds Expectations. Then you would be required to undergo a stringent series of character and aptitude tests at the Auror office. It's a very difficult career path, but I do believe that you can follow it if you work hard enough. Now, you'll need to know which subjects to take next year."

"Erm, yeah. Defense Against the Dark Arts, I suppose?" I suggested.

"Indeed. I would also recommend Transfiguration, as Aurors use a great deal of it in their work, especially on their own bodies when in hiding. I'll tell you now that you will need an 'Exceeds Expectations' at the least in your O.W.L. to get into the N.E.W.T.-level Transfiguration. Charms and Potions are also important — yes, Potions are very important, you don't want to mistake a poison for an antidote."

I swallowed, sighing internally at the idea of having Snape as a teacher for two more years, but nodded. We conversed for a while, discussing what sort of tests Aurors-in-training underwent at the Ministry, until finally, McGonagall put her papers away and told me, "That should be it for today. As I believe, you've already missed all of Divination and I've got other students to attend to. But it was nice meeting with you, Mr. Potter."

I thanked her and left the office, feeling lighthearted and certain of a distant future that had never seemed closer.

* * *

"What's this all about, Hagrid?" I wheezed, trying to keep up with the giant man who walked meters in front of me, carrying a petrol lamp in his huge fist. Ron and Hermione ran along with me, trying to keep up with Hagrid as he crashed none too lightly through the Forbidden Forest.

It was well past mid-afternoon on Wednesday, though the forest was so thick and dark that it seemed as though the sun had already set. Yesterday, Hagrid had sent a letter with Hedwig, telling me to meet him down at his cabin with Ron and Hermione the next day before dusk.

He'd refused to tell us anything, so we were left following him through the thickest part of the woods, tripping over tree roots the size of the Giant Squid's tentacles and squinting to see the small prick of light that was Hagrid's lamp. Our dinners of steak and bean stew and peach cobbler sloshed in our stomachs as we ran.

"Oh, come on, Hagrid," breathed Hermione as she ran, "it's been nearly half an hour since we've been walking through this awful forest. I almost can't see anything!"

But suddenly, Hagrid stopped, causing us to almost crash into him from the pace we were running at. "Look, he's 'ere."

"Who's here, Hagrid?" Ron asked as we all stepped around him to see what was there.

"Grawpy!" Hagrid bellowed at what looked like a great lump of gray and green rock. The rock stirred, and I realized it wasn't stone at all. "Come on, Grawpy! Get up, I been bringing visitors fer yeh!"

The rock stirred again and this time stood up, and I realized that it was a giant wearing a sort of loincloth. He looked slightly angry, but more curious as he stepped forward towards us.

"This 'ere is Grawp. He's my brother. My half-brother." Hagrid chuckled. I didn't really know what to say. Hagrid's half-brother? A giant? Although, as far as I knew about giants, I thought they were supposed to be larger than Grawp was.

Hermione thought so too. "Is he a giant, Hagrid? He looks awfully small."

"Yeah, but he's a bit o' a runt. He was all bullied up in the mountains, I couldn't jus' leave him there! So I brought him 'ere, hope he'll be fine." Hagrid was suppressing tears.

"And… why are you telling us about him, Hagrid?" I asked uncertainly, stepping back when the giant stepped forward only to find his movement thwarted by a great thick rope the size of a python, tied around his left leg.

"Oh!" he said brightly. "I thought yeh'd like to meet him!"

Hermione nodded faintly, while Ron looked at Hagrid as though he'd gone mad. Grawp stepped forward again, this time to Hermione, and she squealed in terror before hiding behind Ron.

"It's fine, it's fine… he wouldn' harm a fly, now, would'yeh Grawpy?" The giant only looked at Hagrid, no sign of any emotion on his face. "I figured since that Umbridge woman migh' be sacking me or telling the world about me, I might want'a go inta hiding, and I'd have ter leave him 'ere with you. If you think that's all righ'."

"Erm, but Hagrid, you do know that Umbridge isn't allowed to sack teachers any more? You'll be staying here, don't worry," I told him. His face visibly brightened; I had no idea why he hadn't seen the _Prophet_ 's newest article, it was all over the Wizarding world. Unless, of course, he'd been spending weeks in the forest with "Grawpy". I wouldn't have been surprised were that the case.

"Well, in tha' case, we best be off," said Hagrid, collecting his lamp again. "Don't want ter get yeh back to the castle late."

So we trudged back all the way through the Forbidden Forest. At one point, I spotted a herd of thestrals feeding on what looked like black fungi growing out of trees, but I didn't mention it to Hermione or Ron. When we got back to the castle, Hermione and Ron immediately left for their Prefect duties and I went to walk around the castle and clear my mind of all the crazy things that were going on.

Somehow, I ended up in the Owlery. Not really knowing what to do with myself, I grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and wrote a short letter to Sirius.

 _Siri,_

 _What are we doing on Friday? I know you said that Dumbledore would come get me, but I'm still confused as to how I'll get to the Ministry. I'm really excited for it, and can't wait to see you then. It's been so long since we've talked face-to-face._

 _I talked with McGonagall on Monday for Careers' Advice, and I'm quite set on the Auror track. (Umbridge was not pleased when she found out from McGonagall.) I don't know why, but I'm excited to become an Auror. Wasn't Dad one himself? Were you one?_

 _Annabeth's Animagus transformation is coming along well; the feathers on her shoulders haven't disappeared yet, and she's sprouting some new ones in her hair. Don't know how she'll manage to hide those, though I think she'll figure it out if you managed to hide a black tail and Dad's hooves._

 _I hope to hear from you soon. Lots of love,_

 _Harry_


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: I've merged some of the chapters together to make them longer, so now there are only a few chapters left!**

 **POVs: Harry**

 _Disclaimer: Nope._

* * *

Chapter 34

 _Harry,_

 _Dumbledore will come find you on Friday. I don't know how, but I trust him. He'll Apparate you to the Ministry, most likely. I agree; I haven't seen you since you left on the Hogwarts Express. You must have changed a lot this year._

 _I think it's wonderful that you've decided to become an Auror. It's a dangerous and hard job, but I think you're up to the task. After all, it's not everyone who defeats the worst man alive at the age of one. James was indeed an Auror, but I was not._

 _I'm glad to hear about Annabeth's transformation. Just make sure to support her as her friend; becoming an Animagus is difficult as hell. If she needs help with her feathers, tell her to either wear some sort of hat or try a partial Disillusionment Charm._

 _I'll see you this Friday._

 _Sirius_

* * *

I didn't quite make it to Friday.

" _Wake up, speaker. She's almost gone, almost gone…"_

" _No!" I yelled, running back and forth through a maze, but really all I found was myself going in circles._

" _No?" said the voice menacingly. "I think otherwise. The spirit within her is leaving quickly. Ooh — what have we here? A man too!" The voice stopped and there was a small shriek followed by a heavy thud to the floor. "Master, I have found him!"_

 _Finally, I hurtled around one last corner, the one numbered 97, against every single one of my instincts, and found myself face to face with a scene I did not want to see in a million years. Suddenly, I was not in my body, and I found myself to be taller, with a straight back and a cold voice._

" _Where is it? Tell me, foul blood-traitor."_

 _Sirius looked up with gray eyes. "I'm not telling you anything."_

" _Come now, it would simply be a waste to spill such pure blood of yours. Now tell me — where is the prophecy?"_

 _Sirius stared into my eyes with a hatred I hoped to never see again. "Never. Even if I did know where it was, I wouldn't tell you. Not in a million years."_

" _CRUCIO!" I yelled, firing the curse at the man in front of me, at the only person who was left of my family. Sirius fell to the floor, twitching horribly but not yelling. I could feel myself pouring all of my hatred into the curse, and Sirius whimpered, a strangled sound in his voice. But why was he not yet screaming?_

" _Are you more inclined to tell me now?"_

 _Sirius regained his strength. "NEVER."_

 _I lifted my arm once more, hissed to the great snake to stay by the side of the girl, and turned my full attention to the man who simply would not scream from the pain of my Cruciatus Curse and would not tell me where the object of my desire lay._

" _Avada —"_

"Harry? _Harry!_ Wake up, dude!" It was Percy's voice that was yelling at me. My scar burned worse than it ever had before.

I screamed and flew from under my covers, very nearly turning into a snake midair. I grabbed for my glasses and shoved them onto my face, the nightmare I'd seen sticking harshly in my brain.

Without saying a word, I tugged on Ron's arm and then on Percy's and ran out of the dormitory once again, just like that night when I'd seen myself bite Mr. Weasley. This time, though, I did not consider going to Dumbledore. I didn't even consider going to McGonagall. Instead, this time I headed straight for the one fireplace not controlled by the Ministry. Hermione, Annabeth, and Ginny, who were for some reason conversing in the common room, jumped up and followed us, tugging on my sleeve to ask what was wrong.

My mouth was frozen shut with fear until halfway down the stairs. "I had a nightmare," I panted. "Sirius — Rachel — in the Ministry. They've been attacked by Voldemort and his snake. We've got to get there. Now!"

The others were completely caught up on the story, and I'd even told them about the row where they'd been: number 97, by the time we reached Umbridge's office. I did not care what she said or thought, and was expecting for her to stand up to her full five feet of height and yell for Dumbledore and the staff when the six of us burst into her office. Instead, I was confused and halted for a moment because of what I saw.

Malfoy was sitting across from Umbridge, looking extremely unpleased and uncomfortable as she spoke to him in a serious tone. Of course, when we burst in, she stopped talking and looked at us, confused, before asking, "And what would the six of you be doing out at night so late? Wandering through the castle? Waiting for detention?"

"We need to use your fireplace," I said wildly. My mind was not in the pink office, but with Sirius and Rachel at the Ministry.

"Excuse me?" If anything I had said had confused Umbridge, this bewildered her. Malfoy turned around and eyed me with disgust and some relief.

"We need to use your —" I began.

"You are hardly in a position to ask such things of me, Mr. Potter! How dare you come into my office and declare that you require my fireplace — _what are you doing, Mr. Potter?"_

I had run over to the fireplace and already had grabbed a handful of dust. The fireplace was wide enough that three of us fit at a time. "If you've already forgotten, Professor, I actually _am_ in such a position to ask such things of you. And you are in no position to deny them."

Umbridge shrieked in disbelieving. "Draco, stay here. I am going to inform the headmaster!" She ran out of the office as fast as her toad legs could carry her. Malfoy was left in his seat, staring at the six of us, all wearing only t-shirts and tank-tops and baggy pants.

I stepped into the fireplace as he raised his eyebrow, tugging Ginny and Ron along with me. "Ministry of Magic!" I yelled, dropping the Floo Powder and disappearing in a whirl of emerald flames.

* * *

I fell out of a cold stone fireplace. The Ministry was deadly silent; there were no people bustling about (not that I was really that surprised, it was the middle of the night. The only sound in the Atrium was the steady rush of water from the golden fountain, where jets from the wands of the witch and wizard, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and the house-elf's ears continued to gush into the surrounding pool. I stood up immediately and brushed the dust from my shoulders. Right after Ginny and Ron had copied me, green flames burst up again and Percy, Annabeth and Hermione shot out of nowhere.

I looked back at where we'd come from. The green flames had died down to barely a simmer. A small part in the back of my mind wondered why it was that they weren't completely gone, but that worry disappeared when the image of Sirius screaming in pain and Rachel leaking blood on the floor reappeared in my mind.

"They're in the Department of Mysteries. Come on," I told the five who stood behind me, wondering what we were supposed to do. The six of us took off jogging, holding up our wands and whispering " _Lumos"_ to get some light. We all passed through the golden gates to get to the lifts; I pressed the nearest down button and cringed when the golden grilles slid open with a loud _clang._ I stabbed at the nine number and waited in agony until the lift halted and the female voice said, "Department of Mysteries." The six of us stumbled out into a lifeless corridor, at the end of which stood the black door of my nightmares.

I didn't want everyone to follow me in, but it was inevitable and we quietly slipped through the door into a completely black, circular room with about a dozen doors.

"Now what?" whispered Ginny, but her question was answered when the walls began to rotate around us.

"We can't know where we came from now," said Annabeth in a scared voice. But suddenly, Percy, who had been walking at my side the entire time, stiffened. He turned his head. "It's that way," he said, gesturing to the door three to the left.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked doubtfully, stretching her wand arm out to see with her light.

Annabeth confirmed it. "Absolutely. I don't know what it is; I can just —"

"Well, if it is that way, let's not waste any time," said Ginny fiercely, and the six of us turned to head through the door.

With a simple " _Alohomora"_ from Hermione, the door clicked open to show what I had dreamed of so many times. It was a maze, high as a church and filled with high shelves cluttered with dusty glass orbs, each of them emitting a blue light.

"It's row ninety-seven, you said, Harry?" Hermione asked, inspecting the nearest shelf labeled with a polished silver 1.

"Yeah. Come on, it's ought to be down there…" So we all took off at a sprint again. Every other row I would call Sirius' name, but there was no sound to be heard in the huge cold room. We passed row 50, then row 60… and still no sign of a struggle, no scream, _nothing._

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me and I whirled around to see who was there, expecting Voldemort or a Death Eater, or, beyond all hope, my godfather.

But it was none of those people; no, the person who'd been following us was Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.

"Draco?" Hermione hissed when she saw him. "What are _you_ doing here?"

He grew pink and spat back, "I decided to follow you. Is there something wrong with that, _Mudblood_?"

Ron grew very red in the face. "Don't you dare, Malfoy —"

But I turned around, not caring enough to know why Malfoy had followed us, not caring about anything but reaching Sirius…

Suddenly, I stopped. There it was — row ninety-seven. I looked around, but it wasn't hard to find the bright red in the light of a thousand blue orbs.

So Sirius was not here. But Rachel indeed was. And she looked the same as she had in my dream: blood spilled, clothes ripped — she'd been missing for months, but she looked like she'd been missing for years. The torture brought upon her was too gruesome to even look at, much less imagine.

The rest of the group suddenly caught up. Percy and Annabeth immediately ran forward to get Rachel and picked her limp body up between the two of them. Malfoy was shocked; when he ran forward to help, though, Annabeth told him not to touch her. And I could see why.

It wasn't just blood leaving Rachel's body. There was a slippery, greenish fog falling out of her ears and mouth and nose.

"She's losing the Oracle, Percy," Annabeth said, agitated.

"I can see that. I don't get it, though. How?"

"I don't know, but —"

"Harry, look at this," said Ron suddenly, studying something on the shelf right above the number 97.

"What?" I asked him impatiently.

"It's got your name on it." And it did. The peeling yellow label beneath the brightly glowing orb in front of me said:

 **S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.**

 **Dark Lord**

 **and (?) Harry Potter**

I stared at it. "What is it?" asked Ron, sounding unnerved. "What's your name doing down here?"

"Harry, don't touch it," warned Hermione as I reached for the glass ball.

"Why not? It's got something to do with me, doesn't it? It's got my name on it."

"We've got to get her out of here now," said Malfoy, looking at me seriously. " _Now!"_

Instead, I reached out and closed my hand around the dusty ball, expecting it to be cold and finding otherwise. I brought it down from the shelf, expecting something extraordinary to happen. Nothing happened, and the orb simply glowed as it always had.

"Come _on!"_ yelled Malfoy. "Before it's too late! Let's get Rachel out of here!"

"Oh, I'm afraid that won't be happening today, Draco," said Lucius Malfoy's drawling voice suddenly as he emerged from the darkness behind us. "Very good, Potter. Now how about you turn around and give that to me?"


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Two chapters left after this one! Leave a review!**

 **POV: Harry**

 _Disclaimer: I own only Navin. (And if you don't remember who that is, it should come back to you soon enough.)_

* * *

Chapter 35

Percy was the first person to turn around. When he did, it was so fast that I wasn't able to track the movement with my eyes. Faster than I could see, his wand was in his hand. " _EXPELLIARMUS!"_

And the wand that Lucius Malfoy was holding, pointed towards me, flew out of his hand before the Death Eater could even think of muttering a charm to stop it. Percy caught it without moving his eyes off of Lucius, and held it out along with his own wand, pointing both at the Death Eater. Lucius looked behind me, at his son, with a pleading look in his eye, but there was no response from Draco, who was still holding up Rachel.

A loud cackle resonated from behind Lucius, and a woman dressed completely in black stepped out and lay a filthy hand on his shoulder. Lucius couldn't wipe the look of shock off of his face; I doubted he'd ever been disarmed so quickly and easily. "Lots of potential, that one…" she cackled again, showing rotted black teeth through a mane of wild black hair. Suddenly, I realized who it was standing there in front of me. "And what would your name be, dear?" She said the words with no feeling at all.

Percy didn't answer, only watching her warily. He'd already made a quick move; I doubted he could disarm Bellatrix Lestrange as quickly as he'd disarmed Malfoy. Suddenly, Bellatrix moved nearer to Percy. "I asked you a _question!_ " she shrieked, pointing her wand at Percy, but he blocked the Cruciatus curse sent his way with a quick mutter.

"And I don't intend to answer it."

"Have it your way, then."

"Bella, this isn't the time, we need —"

"I _know_ , Lucius. But I don't think you're in a position to order what is going to happen next, Lucy. If you haven't quite yet noticed, you don't have your wand."

Lucius shut his mouth and stepped back until he was wreathed in shadow. But while Bellatrix had had her attention on Lucius, Percy had taken the advantage and shot another Disarming Charm at her.

"HOW _DARE_ YOU!" Bellatrix screamed, throwing up a Shield Charm faster than I thought she could have. She was a really powerful witch. And suddenly, there were Death Eaters on all sides of us. Somehow, they had cornered us so silently that no one had heard.

One of the masked figures sent a green spell whizzing past Ginny's ear, and it hit the prophecies behind it so they began to speak in three-toned voices. "DO NOT!" Bellatrix yelled. "DO NOT TRY TO KILL THEM, WE CANNOT RISK LOSING THE PROPHECY!"

Suddenly, Annabeth, who had been silently and discreetly pulling her wand from her pocket, twitched it in the direction of the Death Eaters behind her. Two of them fell over and writhed on the floor before laying still.

"Who did that?" Bellatrix shrieked, looking around to see who had sent the curses that incapacitated two men. She could not pinpoint the source of the spells, however, and Annabeth looked around in mock confusion.

A man on my left side fell over, and I yelled with all my might, "NOW!"

Everyone pointed their wands and sent _Expelliarmuses_ flying through the air; four more Death Eaters fell from the extreme force, but the rest were smart enough to put up Shield Charms. Then, Annabeth yelled, " _Reducto!"_ and the shelves of prophecies began to fall over, crashing onto the black-cloaked figures and reciting prophecies. The fog from all of the prophecies was enough to make us disappear, and so all of us ran towards what we believed was the exit. Draco and Percy carried Rachel between the rest of us, as we all fired red spells back towards the Death Eaters.

And suddenly, there was a yell from in front of me. "HARRY!" It was a voice I knew all too well.

"SIRIUS? What are you doing here?!"

"I could ask you the same thing," said Sirius as he joined us in running towards the exit. "Do you have it?"

I did; it was still clutched in my hand, glowing blue now.

"The Order is here. We heard of the disrupt at the Ministry from far away, since there are eyes everywhere. Never forget that, Harry. Why are you here?"

I couldn't answer, I was running so hard. The taste of blood was pungent in my mouth. Suddenly, we burst through a door into a cold black room. There was an arch on the far side of it, covered by a curtain, but nothing else in the room.

Annabeth, Percy and Draco reached us, and set down Rachel. "Wait, do you hear that?" asked Annabeth suddenly.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Voices. They're coming from that arch, like there's people behind the curtain!" she responded, making her way over to the arch.

"Don't _touch it!"_ The words came from Rachel, who had suddenly woken up, her eyes drained of color, the green fog still seeping out of it. "The dead are in there!"

"Oh, gods Rachel! You had us worried!" Percy exclaimed, hugging her gently. "What happened?" Draco, having rushed over to Rachel, was now supporting almost all her body weight.

"The sn —"

She didn't finish, because just then, all the remaining Death Eaters burst into the room and fired simultaneously at us. We were all very quickly preoccupied, and Draco had to set down Rachel to draw his wand and stand in front of her protectively. Sirius rushed over to help them.

In the center of it all was Bellatrix. She was duelling Percy and Annabeth and Hermione, who all fought their best but could not bring down the witch. I clutched the prophecy harder when I felt cold, clammy hands grabbing at it, and pointed my wand at a masked figure behind me who was trying to get it. He wailed in agony after my Stunning Spell hit him straight in the nose.

There were more people in the room than I thought there had been, and I soon figured out why. Tonks, Lupin, Moody, and the rest of the Order was there, fighting viciously and beating the black figures back.

Sirius had just reached Rachel, and right on time too, as Draco had been engaged in a fight with another Death Eater and she was left unguarded. She fought to get up and finally managed it, though leaning heavily on my godfather. Blood seeped out from tears in her skinny jeans and t-shirt, and her red frizzy hair was even more out of control than usual. As a tear in Rachel's jeans shifted, I caught a glimpse of something on the outside of her left thigh.

Two puncture marks that I knew only too well.

Sirius grabbed Rachel and struggled to place her behind him. "It's alright! I'll keep her safe, don't worry, it's fine!" he yelled out at us from across the room. He was dangerously close to the gray curtain of voices, and just seeing him standing with such a close proximity to it was enough to worry me. Percy made to move over to where Sirius was standing, still fighting gravity and dead weight to get Rachel in a safe place behind him.

And then, there was a sudden flash of light as Bellatrix moved towards Sirius, extending her wand much too fast for him to follow or counter.

" _Avada Kedavra!"_ she shrieked with the venom and pleasure of her master. The green spell whizzed through the air and hit directly where Sirius was standing.

Sirius toppled over. I screamed out to him, yelling with all the terror in my heart because no, _Sirius could not be dead._ "NO!" I screamed, my throat aching from the sound that erupted from my heart. Sirius was all I had left; no, he could not leave me, he could not leave me here to fight this war alone…

Tears blurred my vision, but I ran over and tripped. And out of my hand fell the prophecy, and it smashed into shards of glass on the floor as the figure of a young woman who looked vaguely familiar rose out of it. But I didn't pay attention to it, still moving towards my godfather, and then I saw that —

Sirius was still moving — and his arm was flying out, wand in his grasp —

But then —

Where had the curse —?

And then I saw, then I realized. Sirius was very much alive, fighting as always, but Rachel was not.

Her body stumbled backwards, keeping a tight grip on Sirius' jacket, and she fell backwards into the curtain of smoke and voices. Sirius fought to pry her vice-like grip on his arm off, and had placed one foot into the veil of smoke when he finally succeeded in throwing her off.

Rachel was nowhere to be found; she'd vanished as soon as she fell behind those curtains, and I knew already in my heart that she wouldn't be coming back. My thought was proved when seconds later, a misty, bright green figure in the form of a young girl slithered out from behind the curtain and dissipated into the air. The spirit of the Oracle of Delphi was lost forever; she'd vanished.

I looked over at Percy and Annabeth to see how they were reacting — if I was horrified, they'd feel much worse — but instead my eyes found Malfoy. He was positively burning with rage at seeing Rachel's death. And right there, when his eyes met mine, I saw that Malfoy had made up his mind right there and then. He had no intention of following in his father's footsteps: not now, not ever.

My eyes changed direction when I heard a sword being drawn, and I looked over at Percy. He held his Celestial Bronze sword in one hand, and his wand and Malfoy's wand in the other. Annabeth was right next to him as they both charged Bellatrix with godly and wizard weapons alike.

Bellatrix was not done yet. She tore back her left sleeve, and with an evil grin, pressed her finger to the black mark burned into the skin there.

* * *

Everything was still and silent for a moment. Percy and Annabeth looked like they'd been frozen mid-step, Hermione and Ginny and Ron were backed into a corner by three men, Malfoy and Sirius were picking themselves up, staring uselessly at the curtain of voices; Lupin, Tonks and the Order froze, dumbfounded, and even the Death Eaters looked at Bellatrix with horrified expressions.

And then the great black ceiling above us fell in as a great black shadow crashed into the room.

I stumbled backwards at the loud crash as heavy stones and wood fell everywhere, almost crushing everyone, and squinted into the darkness to see if I could make out what had just crashed through the Ministry's walls.

The creature, whatever it was, was absolutely enormous. It had black, scaly wings and a long slithery black body as thick as the trees in the Forbidden Forest. Its bones were visible through the nearly transparent scales, and at first I thought that a very large thestral had just lost its way and crashed into the Ministry on accident.

But then I saw the glowing orange eyes the size of quaffles, and red tufts of feathers crowning its head and on the tip of its tail and back of its legs, and I realized that I had met this very creature all that long time ago on a walk out onto the foggy Hogwarts grounds.

" _NAVIN!"_ I yelled at the quetzalcoatl, and he turned his head and found me with his enormous orange eyes. But the quetzalcoatl did not rush to me and instead ran over to all the Death Eaters and trampled them with his legs. Their cries of protest were muffled by Navin's feet, and the crunch of bones was a sound heard all over the hall.

Only then did the enormous creature make his way over to me. " _Master Harry, you must get out of here. The dark wizard is on his way here right now, I can sense it within my blood. You and your friends can climb on my back and I'll get all of you out of here as soon as possible."_

I looked over at the arch covered by the veil one last time, feeling regret and guilt washing over me.

" _Alright. I'll tell the others. How many can you carry?"_ I responded in Parseltongue, causing everyone to give me strange stares.

" _Six, maybe seven, but I doubt any more than that."_

"Guys! This here is Navin. It's a long story, but in short he's going to get us out before Voldemort gets here. Everyone get on as quickly as possible!" I looked over at Sirius and Lupin. "Can you Apparate out? He can't carry everyone." The two of them nodded quickly before rushing over to help Ginny and Hermione get onto Navin's back. Everyone except Percy looked at the quetzalcoatl warily and cringed when they touched his back.

Percy was the last one to clamber on, but just as he did, a loud _BANG_ resonated through the chamber, and a white face with red eyes and no nose emerged from the darkness, cloaked in all black.

I heard his voice traveling to me as Navin took off suddenly, almost knocking me off my position on his shoulders. " _HARRY. HARRY. Come to me, give it to me. That is all I require, Harry."_

"LIAR!" I yelled into the wind, for we were already out of the room and now were hovering in place next to the great building. But my yell was drowned out by another one, a scream of pure terror.

"PERCY!" Annabeth yelled, looking down at the room we'd just left where Percy had been knocked to the floor. He hadn't made it onto the quetzalcoatl's back. Unfortunately, Annabeth's yell drew the attention of Voldemort. The Dark wizard looked down at Percy, who was still struggling, as he got unsteadily to his feet.

Voldemort cocked his head, looking at the demigod. He didn't say a word before raising his wand, face only showing amusement. I knew what was going to happen right before it did, and my scream of warning didn't make it to Percy's ears on time.

" _AVADA KEDAVRA!"_ Voldemort yelled with pleasure. The green light filled the air one more time, and beyond all of my hope, the spell hit its target.

Percy toppled over and fell to the ground, still. Unmoving.

Annabeth's scream was so terrible, I thought I might die just from hearing the sound of it. I was so horrified that _Percy, PERCY JACKSON_ , the undefeatable, incredible demigod… was gone. Dead, just like Rachel. Tears fell down my face so fast that I didn't know how to stop them. Annabeth was still screaming.

I couldn't see anything until Ginny gasped in horror, and then I forced the tears to leave my eyes so that I could see.

Percy stirred. And moved. And rose to his feet, very, very slowly. Alive. Undamaged.

My eyes moved to Voldemort. I doubted he'd ever been so bewildered in his entire life, not even when I survived his Killing Curse. The Dark Lord raised his arm again, ready to strike. I knew Percy would not survive the curse again. It was not possible.

But just as the Dark Lord opened his mouth, a bright light appeared and a _CRACK_ hit our ears. And there stood Dumbledore, wand brandished, wearing his usual cloak and a neutral expression.

"Come now, Tom. Do you really wish to keep fighting? Do you really wish to fight _me?"_

"I would not mind killing you, old man. It would simply be another obstacle moved out of the way," Voldemort snarled.

Dumbledore cast a spell, but Voldemort waved his wand and blocked it. And so began a duel. Voldemort seemed to know that it would be a waste of his time and energy to immediately send an Unforgivable at Dumbledore, and so they simply enchanted daggers of ice and serpents of fire to fly at each other.

Navin landed. He knew we didn't want to leave Percy, and he was already tired from hovering so long in the same place. None of us got off his back, though, fearing what it would mean for our safety. None but Annabeth, who sprinted over to Percy and helped him to get on Navin's back and cried and hugged him until she could no more.

Suddenly, there was a new presence in the room. It was indeed the Minister of Magic, who stopped short upon seeing Dumbledore duelling with the very person he'd denied existed for the past year.

"The Dark Lord — he's back! He's back!"

Voldemort Disapparated as swiftly as possible, but the damage was done. Fudge had seen him, as well as quite a group of other Ministry workers with him.

Dumbledore, looking exhausted, walked over to me. "I would think it wise that you should tell this little friend of yours to fly you back to Hogwarts. And I expect that none of you should tell anyone of what happened tonight." Then he turned to Percy. "Mr. Jackson, I recommend that you visit Madam Pomfrey. But keep it secret. You know what I mean when I say _it._ There is a great chance that Lord Voldemort has already figured it out, and will want to know how exactly you managed it. Understood?"

Percy nodded stiffly, looking drained and jumpy.

"Off you go, now. I have a few words to speak with the Minister of Magic." He hobbled off to where Fudge was standing, mouth gaping like a fish.

I leaned down to Navin's feathery ear and whispered to him in Parseltongue, and he flapped off once more to take us back home.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry?**

 **(To all the hate I'm surely to receive, I'd like to tell you that I would rather it was Rachel than Sirius.)**


	36. Chapter 36

**POV: Percy**

 _Disclaimer: What kind of author would write fanfiction for their own story?_

* * *

Chapter 36

 _HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED RETURNS TO THE WIZARDING WORLD_

 _Yesterday night around twelve-thirty, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge appeared at the Ministry, alerted by a raised alarm. What he, along with the several Aurors with him, found there was a sight that is sure to raise an even larger alarm. You-Know-Who was spotted there, duelling with Albus Dumbledore. Last night, Harry Potter and a few other Hogwarts students undetectably Flooed into the Ministry for unknown and unclarified reasons._

 _Mr. Potter and his friends were said to have encountered a group of several Death Eaters, none of them yet identified or found, and signs of duels were found in several corridors up in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry. We can only assume that You-Know-Who showed up moments later, though the evidence as to how the group of teenagers escaped him and the Death Eaters is little. A wall next to the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry was severely damaged, leading the conclusion that the teens were able to blast apart the wall. However, we do not know how they would have escaped from there, as jumping from the Department of Mysteries would lead to a certain death._

 _Muggles that were around the area last night reported to Ministry officials (in disguise, of course) that they had seen a dark object, large in size and black against the skies, fly into London. Officials are working on Obliviating the minds of these muggles so that they do not remember anything, but the information they gave us is quite possibly a clue. Still, there are many protections around the Ministry, leading some to wonder how exactly the creature could have flown directly into it._

 _By the time the Minister had shown up, the teens were making their escape and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was duelling with Dumbledore. The headmaster of Hogwarts has thus so far refused to answer any questions about what has happened. However, the evidence is enough now. There is no doubt that the most feared Dark wizard of all time has returned._

 _This now raises some questions from the Wizarding world. Was Harry Potter telling the truth when he said he saw the resurrection of You-Know-Who last June? And if so, has the Ministry of Magic intentionally been hiding this information or simply thought it was a blatant lie?_

 _The Ministry is currently under repair from the devastating event last night. Mr. Sirius Black's trial, set to be today, has been moved forward two more weeks, into June. We await more news from the Ministry soon and will certainly keep the_ Prophet _informed on You-Know-Who's whereabouts and return._

 _(For more information about the Department of Mysteries, pg 8)_

 _(For more information about Sirius Black's trial, pg 11)_

* * *

"Harry, is it true?"

"What crashed into the Ministry?"

"How'd you get out?"

"Is Dumbledore okay?"

"Why were you there yesterday?"

Questions filled my ears the next morning. News had certainly traveled fast. I wasn't really sure how Rita Skeeter could have written out such a lengthy, detailed article between the time we left the Ministry and the time the _Prophet_ arrived at school the next morning.

Well, at least now the world knew the truth. That Voldemort was back.

I really did not feel like talking today. Rachel's death was still sinking into my brain, like a memory that I couldn't remember whether I'd dreamed or lived through. But I knew in my heart that she was really gone, and that made it all the worse. The only thing I was glad about today was that Rachel's death had not yet reached the _Prophet._ It wasn't necessarily new to the whole school that she was missing.

Annabeth was doing even worse. Seeing someone who had become her best friend die in front of her eyes horrified her to say the least. She'd been crying all last night, and we'd ended up sleeping together on the common room couch because she didn't want to leave me. Her eyes were still rimmed with tears, red and puffy, and her face was blotched with red spots.

So neither of us felt like talking today. But Harry was so shy, so unable to tell those stupid people to _go away_ that I had to stand up.

"Leave the guy in peace, okay?" I said, sharper than I meant to, directing my words at a group of fourth-year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff girls who were constantly bickering over Harry. "Why can't you respect that some people need their privacy and time to recover over some things? Yes, _VOLDEMORT_ is back! Get over it! He's back now, he's been back for a whole year, almost, and if you refuse to believe it like you refused to believe it last fall then you're an idiot and you need to go inform yourself!"

And I plopped back down into my seat, arm wrapping protectively around Annabeth as she started to cry again. I didn't bother to look up at the teacher's table; at this point, I knew that they were all staring at me for yelling so abruptly at the kids who were so eager. But I did not care anymore. Harry was staring at a spot somewhere across the Great Hall, not doing anything about the pestering students around him. Hermione stared down at her eggs, looking lost. Even Ron wasn't eating this morning.

My eyes strayed to Malfoy, across the hall. He was picking at his food with a green look to his face. No doubt he'd been crying too, even if it was in private. But now, whenever someone approached him, he gave such a cold glance at them that everyone backed off quickly. A couple of third years who had (or so I thought, from what I'd seen) been trying to catch his attention all year walked away from him, looking terrified, after he shot them a glare.

 _Rachel is gone,_ my heart told my head. But my head didn't want to believe it.

 _But she could have simply fallen over! We left her there, not making sure to see if she was alive!_

 _You saw how the Oracle's spirit vanished. Rachel is gone._

"Mr. Jackson," said a stiff voice from behind me. Oh, so _now_ I was getting busted for yelling at those girls? I turned around, face blank and empty of emotion, to look at McGonagall.

"Mr. Jackson, Miss Chase, please follow me." I got up, not really caring anymore, but knowing that all those girls I'd just sent away would be back to pick at Harry as soon as I was gone. We followed McGonagall all the way to her office. To my surprise, there was a fountain set up there, spraying water infinitely.

Tight-lipped, McGonagall said, "Professor Dumbledore asked me to set this up for you. I trust you know what to do with it?" Annabeth nodded, and the Transfiguration teacher left the room.

"I don't have any drachmas," I told Annabeth. "They're up in my trunk."

"I have one. I've been carrying it around all year just in case." She flipped the gold coin into the rainbow of colors displayed by the fountain. "O, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept our offering. Show us Chiron at Camp Half-Blood."

The rainbow shimmered into a picture, one of Chiron facing away from us, studying a piece of paper.

"Chiron!" Annabeth said with no energy. The centaur turned around.

"Annabeth? Percy! It's been such a long time — but my dear, what's the matter?" he asked worriedly as Annabeth began to cry again.

Knowing that Annabeth wouldn't be able to form a sentence in her state, I stepped forward. "Rach—Rachel's gone."

"Gone? I know she'd been kidnapped, Percy, but that was a long time ago."

"No, Chiron. She—she's _gone._ "

The centaur stepped forward, towards me. "What happened?" he asked quietly, brown eyes kind and understanding.

So I told him the whole story, of Harry having his nightmare and taking the Floo to the Ministry, to finding the Prophecy and Rachel and then being cornered by Death Eaters, and how Voldemort had shown up shortly after Bellatrix hit Rachel instead of Sirius. I told him about the quetzalcoatl that helped us escape. And then I sat down and put my head in my hands and sobbed quietly, no sound leaving my mouth save the occasional gasp.

Chiron was silent. Silent for a long, long time. For once, he had no idea what to say.

"Percy. Annabeth. I know you must miss her dearly—"

"We ignored the prophecy Rachel gave us!" Annabeth whimpered. "She said that she'd be forsaken and we didn't pay attention!"

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth. You know how these things happen. I assure you that we will give her a proper shrine at Camp, when you return this summer—"

"What?" I interrupted, causing Chiron to give me a strange look.

"Well, I assumed that you would be coming back to Camp Half-Blood this summer. Am I wrong?"

I sat and stared. "No." It just seemed so strange, to go back to that sense of normalcy back in the US after being here for so long.

"Well, Percy. There is one issue I must address, and I know you do not really want to hear this at this time, but it is very important." He looked at me with those ancient eyes worriedly. "Percy, Voldemort now knows that you are immortal. He knows that you survived the Killing Curse, though I am sure he does not know why or how. And he will do anything to get revenge for it. You and Harry are the only ones who have survived it, and now you are both his biggest targets. You must tell someone! Dumbledore!"

I didn't respond. Out of everything that had happened, I barely even remembered being hit by that green light and getting back up again. The memory seemed like the one of Rachel's death; a dream, or reality?

Slowly, I nodded. I would tell Dumbledore. It was a Saturday, after all, and I knew there was no chance that I would study at all.

"Good. Well, I am deeply sorry to have to hear this news. I have to go now, campers are arriving already."

"We'll see you soon, Chiron," Annabeth managed weakly. "I miss Camp."

"And we miss you. Don't you worry, you'll be back before you know it. Goodbye, Percy, Annabeth."

"Bye." He slashed his hand through the fountain on his end, and the only thing left was a rainbow.

* * *

I rapped my knuckles on the heavy door. "Come in," said a tired old voice. I opened the door and walked into Dumbledore's office once more.

"To what do I owe this visit, Percy?" the old man said, looking up at me from the _Prophet_ in front of him. Fawkes crooned as I reached over and stroked his silky red feathers.

"I need to tell you something, Professor, about last night."

"Fire away, my boy."

I took a breath. "Right before—before you arrived at the Ministry last night, Voldemort tried to kill me."

Dumbledore didn't move, didn't change his impassive expression.

"He—he sent a Killing Curse at me and it hit me."

Now Dumbledore leaned forward. "Then how is it you are here?"

"Two—two years ago, I traveled into the Underworld and bathed in the River Styx. If you know about Achilles—" Dumbledore nodded "—well, that's how he became invincible. Save his heel."

"And you have a vulnerable point as well, do you not? You are immortal, invincible unless that point is touched."

I gaped. "Yeah. I'd rather not say where, though."

"Now, tell me, Percy, is that the reason you have such a scar written into your back?"

"H-how did you know?" I asked, terrified for some reason.

"I speak regularly with Madam Pomfrey, Mr. Jackson. It would be foolish if I did _not_ know."

"R-right." I was still in a daze. "Chiron said I should speak with you."

"Of course. And now that Lord Voldemort knows that you are immortal, he will no doubt try to connect your survival of his curse to Harry's survival."

"But they're not related at all, are they?"

"No, not quite. Don't you see, Percy? Voldemort will try to connect two dots that are in different worlds altogether. This narrow-mindedness of his will make him weaker as he tries to figure out what saved you and Harry. He won't for a moment consider that they are utterly different reasons, and that is actually quite reasonable, because surviving the Killing Curse is so rare that it would make sense that there's only one way to survive it."

I cocked my head, not really sure how to respond.

"The more urgent issue, now, Percy, is that you will be high on Voldemort's target list. It does not matter that Harry was saved by love and you were saved by a river of which he has no knowledge. He will seek revenge, and you must be fully prepared when it hits."

I didn't say anything, because I now saw a problem with Voldemort connecting the dots.

"Percy. Moving on to a different issue, we have to discuss Rachel."

 _Great._

"I know what happened last night. I do indeed have eyes everywhere, and Rachel's death is not something to take lightly. I suggest, if you are willing to comply, that we hold a small funeral for her here at Hogwarts."

I wrinkled my nose, and Dumbledore guessed why immediately. "No, no, we will not be inviting the entire school. Most people did not know her anyways. Of course, we must at one point announce that she indeed was killed, to the world. But as for the funeral, we can do that before, and invite only people you wish to invite."

Tears welled in my eyes, and I wiped at them furiously. I was so grateful that Dumbledore was allowing us to do this, although announcing her death would be more of an issue.

"Okay," I said, trying to keep the tears out of my voice. I felt choked by the knot in my throat.

"Very well. I will speak with Professor McGonagall and see what we can do. In the meantime, I think you should take a small trip to the Hospital Wing." He glanced down at my torso.

"Thank you," I said before standing, petting Fawkes one more time, and leaving the room.

* * *

There weren't many people in the Hospital Wing. I went straight to Pomfrey's office and asked if I could nab some more Blood-Replenishing Potions and some new bandages. She was so kind about it that I wanted to break down and cry like a five-year-old.

Madam Pomfrey took me to a room in the back of her office and gingerly removed the bandages. "They are healing well. Soon enough you won't need any more Blood-Replenishing Potions. But whatever did that was nasty. I don't know of anything that would cause wounds to remain open for so long," she said before covering them with a smaller patch of bandage than before. "Your cells have clotted them well, and they are fading now." I looked at them in the mirror to see that indeed, most of the scars had a yellowish tint around them and were fading to white.

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey," I said, leaving the Hospital Wing once she was done.

A sense of unease grew in the back of my mind as I headed up to Gryffindor Tower. Dumbledore had said that Harry and I survived the Killing Curse because of different reasons; that Harry survived because of his mother's love and I survived because of the Styx's powers. But was it really all that different, when the person I loved the most had been the one to pull me out of the river?

* * *

 **A/N: One chapter left! For those of you who haven't seen my profile, there is indeed going to be a sequel, so there is no need to fret!**

 **Also, please vote on my profile for if you want a preview of the sequel as chapter 38 or not! (Don't vote as a review, it won't be counted.)**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: And here we are! The** _ **very last chapter**_ **! Of the first installment, that is ;)**

 **POVs: Harry**

 _Disclaimer: Without the marvelous authors, this would not exist._

* * *

Chapter 37

Rachel's burial shroud had been designed by Annabeth. It had little spirals of fog curling all the way around it and glowed purple, Rachel's favorite color. There were only eight people there to witness the beautiful purple shroud burn up into smoke that was fed to the gods.

Percy and Annabeth looked like they wanted to cry but were holding themselves together — literally. I was scared that if they were to let go of each other, they would both start crying. Hermione was red-eyed but refrained from crying because she wanted to hold up strong for Annabeth and Percy. She hugged Annabeth and patted her back every couple of seconds. Ron sat behind Hermione and next to me, looking quite horrified but trying to be stoic about the whole thing. Dumbledore and McGonagall stood by the shroud, both of their faces pulled tight with emotion.

One last person was there; I'd made sure that he was invited to Rachel's funeral. Malfoy stood off to the side, looking on as the fire burned. I couldn't manage to catch his eye, but I knew he was using his acting skills, given to him in the years of training as a young pureblood. He'd been close to Rachel; I was sure that if he hadn't had that stern education as a child, he'd be a puddle on the floor by now.

The funeral was held outside, after dinner, and the sun was sinking slowly, not yet having touched the horizon. It had been a week and a half since that night at the Ministry, and O.W.L.s had passed. Ron and I had tried our best to study but it was difficult with all that was going on. Hermione had used it as a distraction from what was going on, while we used what was going on as a distraction from studying. All we knew is that somehow we had ended up in rooms with Ministry wizards that tested us on all the subjects. I'd tried my best, as Hermione had been telling me to, but my mind had still been full of memories of that night. Sirius could have died. Rachel was gone. And Percy — he'd survived the Killing Curse.

So one could definitely say that remembering about the Third Goblin War between wizards and goblins or reciting the names of all the most famous centaurs of the century or predicting when Mercury was next going to line up with Jupiter could be… difficult. Nevertheless, we were not excused from the exams. All I was thinking after was that I was glad they were over. Umbridge had left Hogwarts for good as soon as all the Defense Against the Dark Arts exams were over, and hadn't been heard of since.

Annabeth and Percy had become more distant since that night. I couldn't blame them; I knew what it was like to be under constant pressure from students asking one person about everything, and I didn't want the two demigods to be subjected to that. The two of them had had regular exams, prep for their N.E.W.T.s next year, but hadn't been around all that often. I knew that Annabeth was still speaking with Hermione, but neither Ron nor I had personally had a long conversation with either of them for almost two weeks now.

Then there was the subject of Sirius's trial. It had been moved forward again, into the last week of June. Apparently, repairs at the Ministry weren't going as well as Fudge had hoped. I wondered if there was any magic surrounding quetzalcoatls that would have caused that in any way.

"Potter."

The voice broke into my dizzied head and I whipped around to find the voice that had spoken. It was Malfoy; of course. Who else would call me Potter that was here?

He sat down next to me without asking. We were all wearing our black school robes, excepting McGonagall and Dumbledore, who donned black robes as well for the day. Malfoy looked at the horizon where the sun was barely beginning to touch land.

I wanted to say, "what" in reply, but I couldn't find it in me. Malfoy stayed silent, pondering before sending a small Muffliato towards the other students and the two professors so they wouldn't hear.

"She didn't deserve this," he said at last.

"Well, of course she didn't."

"My father… what an idiot. I finally make one friend at school and he has to go and take her away."

I turned around to face him. His white blond hair was messy, not slicked back at all, but hanging in front of his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean, Malfoy?"

He didn't look at me; he wouldn't. Instead, Malfoy let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair like I did so often. "And here I am, spilling all my secrets to my arch-nemesis."

I raised an eyebrow to tell him he was an idiot. "I thought you had friends, Malfoy. Parkinson, your two goons, all those other Slytherins?"

"Well then, Potter. You're still an idiot, aren't you? Those are not my friends. They are my companions, assigned to me by a father who is too cowardly to see that friends are very different from pureblooded acquaintances. I've had arranged meetings with them since I was a child, but they were never my _friends."_ He spat out the last word as though it was venom. "No, Potter. I'm just about the loneliest person in the world just about now, and it's because of who my parents are."

I realized something. "You love your parents, though?"

Malfoy sighed in defeat. "What a meddling prick you are, Potter. Yes. I do. How could I not? It doesn't matter what their beliefs are, they are my parents." He sighed again, though this one sounded a bit choked. "I'm sure that soon, father will ask me to join him. To join _him._ " I knew the two 'him's were different people just by the way Malfoy said them.

"He's going to ask you to join the Death Eaters," I said quietly.

"More like force me into it," Malfoy said nonchalantly, snorting, though I knew it was all an act. "After he saw the fight I was putting up at the Ministry, after he saw that I was helping _The Boy-Who-Lived,_ well, I don't think I've got much of a choice now."

"You've got a choice," I said suddenly, fiercely. "You've always got a choice. If they want to force you into taking the Mark, you decide whether to be submissive or fight back."

Malfoy looked startled, but regained his composure quickly. "I see why so many people see you as a leader."

"Yeah, well," I spat bitterly, "I hate that part of my life. You've got no idea how awful it is to—"

"—be famous but want nothing to do with it," Malfoy finished my sentences, looking unsurprised. "No, I wouldn't know, Potter. But I know that you hate it. It's really obvious to those who aren't oblivious." He shot a glare at the back of Ron's head. "I've always been taught to _want_ to be in the spotlight. So imagine what it was like for me when _Harry Potter_ arrived at Hogwarts my first year."

I shook my head, cutting him off there. "Malfoy, what are you going to do if Voldemort asks you to join him?"

He flinched, but I didn't say anything until he did. "I don't want to do it. I don't know what I'll do. If I don't join him, he's going to kill them. My parents."

I didn't really know what to say to that, so I stared a while longer at the dying embers that happened to be Rachel's shroud. Hermione seemed to be the only one who realized the two of us were talking, but was focused completely on Annabeth.

"You'll have to choose Malfoy. Submit to his power or fight back." I stood up, pulled Percy and Annabeth from the ground, and walked us all back to the castle. I'd had enough of this funeral already.

* * *

"You could spend the summer with us, mate," Ron said as he moved a black knight on the chessboard. We'd found that wizard's chess was a good way to keep Annabeth away from crying now that she didn't have anything to study. Ron and Percy took turns to play her and they'd gone through seven games already today.

We had all already finished packing to go home. The Hogwarts train left in an hour.

I looked up from the letter I was writing to Sirius, stopping halfway through my sentence about how I'd be at his trial in a week. "I don't know if Dumbledore will let me."

Ron muttered something that clearly showed his opinion about what Dumbledore thought.

"Honestly, Harry," said Hermione from her place lying belly-down on the grass by the lake, looking up from her book, "I agree with Ron. Dumbledore hasn't really been looking out for us this year at all. What has he done? He wasn't able t— er, he told you and us _nothing_ about the prophecy the Order wanted, and he didn't even help us to riddle out the prophecy we had."

"Wait, the _prophecy_ was what the Order wanted?" I asked, eyes bugging out of my skull.

"Well, not really, but it was the weapon they were talking about," she said as she returned her attention to the book.

"Wait, Hermione, did you hear what the prophecy said? When it crashed on the ground?" I stood up and started to pace.

"Yes—wait, Harry, you didn't hear _any_ of it?" I shook my head. She got up and rummaged through her book bag before drawing out a piece of parchment. "Here, I wrote it down. ' _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…'_ That's it."

"You've been keeping this away for two weeks, Hermione?" I yelled, confused and suddenly overwhelmed. She jumped back.

"I thought—I thought you knew, Harry!"

"Okay. Okay. Mate, calm down," said Ron as I fumed. Because somewhere inside me I _knew_ with all certainty that Dumbledore had known about this prophecy and had not told me about it.

"Ron," I said suddenly, calmly, "could you owl your mum? I don't want to go back to Privet Drive."

Ron smiled widely. "I don't think it'll be a problem. She'll be so glad to have you…"

"You should tell Dumbledore, though, Harry. I don't think it's wise to have him believing that you're at your uncle and aunt's house," Hermione interrupted, chewing her lip worriedly.

"I'll send him a note, but I don't want to talk to him face to face. If I do, I might destroy everything in the vicinity."

"Why would you do that?" Percy asked.

"Because he knew. _He knew_ about the prophecy, Hermione, I just know he did. But he didn't tell me. Why?"

I knew that my friend wanted to say, _to protect you,_ but she wisely stayed quiet.

"The prophecy. Oh my gods," Annabeth gasped, speaking for the first time about anything Rachel-related in a long time.

"What about it?" Percy asked cautiously, tiptoeing around his own words.

"We should have seen it coming, Percy! The _prophecy!_ Gods damn it! How did we not see this before?"

We all stayed quiet, waiting for her to explode. And so she did. "Don't you see? ' _Fiery red has been forsaken, watch her close, or she'll be taken'!_ We didn't really see Rachel around the holidays, and then she was kidnapped. Then, ' _your friend will fool you through a lie, and the taken one will promptly die'_? Didn't Sirius tell us that he had Rachel, that he'd protect her at the Ministry when he got to her? And then… and then Bellatrix…"

Annabeth collapsed onto the grassy ground and burst into tears once again.

We didn't really know how to comfort her, because there was the proof. It was all laid out so plainly in front of us and yet we hadn't seen it coming.

Percy was the first to sit back down and pull Annabeth into his arms. "She was right, Annabeth. Rachel was always right. And now we've got to make extra sure that we watch that prophecy closely."

Annabeth, soothed already, brought her head up. More calmly this time, she said, "' _They'll find a prophecy meant for one, and understand the end has begun'._ That's your prophecy, Harry."

"So what now?" asked Ron, dumbfounded at all the new information coming together.

"Well, we stick together, like she told us to. If the end has really 'begun'," said Percy, "we'll follow the last lines of her prophecy _. 'To fight against the threat of terror—'_ "

Annabeth finished his sentence. "' _You must all stand together._ '"

* * *

The scarlet steam engine puffed into the air swirls and whorls of white smoke that dissipated almost immediately and were lost in the azure blue sky above the train station. After exams and Rachel's funeral, summer had seemingly swallowed up spring with bright sunshine, afternoon thunderstorms that rolled over the green hills of the Hogwarts grounds, and long, warm days.

The five of us walked along the cobbled, uneven path that led to the Hogwarts Express. "I guess this is it, then," said Percy, wincing as his shoulders rose and fell with every step. "Until next year."

Ron blew his long red hair from his face. "It's been a long year, hasn't it?"

Annabeth nodded, holding Percy's arm like she had for the past two days. "We'll see each other once more next fall, I guess. More likely in August, maybe for Percy's birthday."

"Are you continuing with your Animagus studies, Annabeth?" I asked her. The feathers had all gone back all the way.

"Yeah, McGonagall gave me some books to study. Apparently the next step is having dreams about my other form. And then, when school starts next September, she told me I was going to hold a Mandrake leaf in my mouth for the whole first month. Wonderful thing, won't it be?"

We all laughed, for the first time in a while. As we walked to the train compartment where Hermione, Ron and I were to get on, I took Hedwig out of her cage. "Here you go, Hedwig," I said softly as I gave her my letter for Sirius. She flapped off and disappeared into the smoke from the train.

"We get to see our friends again!" Percy said enthusiastically. "Not that you guys are bad, we just…"

"Miss home," I finished, smiling. "I know how you feel."

"What, you miss the Dursleys'?" Hermione asked, mouth pursed.

"No, 'Mione. I miss Hogwarts every summer."

"Maybe you'll miss it less when you spend a summer at a wizarding house. Did you tell your aunt and uncle that you weren't going with them?" Ron asked.

"I sent a message to Dumbledore. He'll tell them. Besides, it's not like they'll care if I don't show up on their doorstep this year."

Annabeth gave me a sympathetic look and then a strong side-hug. "We'll miss all of you. Hermione, you know how to get to us, it should be easy. Just don't send any owls, they'll get confused by the magical borders around Camp and won't be able to reach us."

Ron looked at Hermione to ask what Annabeth was talking about, but she simply smiled deviously.

"Until next year, Golden ones," Percy said, miming throwing kisses at us as the three of us boarded the Hogwarts Express and found a compartment to sit.

"Until next year!" I yelled back at them, and the three of us waved goodbye. By the time the train was moving at its regular pace, speeding out of Hogsmeade, Percy and Annabeth had already vanished, and all that was left behind was the cloudy fog from the train covering the stones and the tracks.

 _~Fin~_

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks a ton to everyone who reviewed, supported, followed, and favorited, because this wouldn't have been finished without all of you!**

 **I still need to decide on whether or not I want to include a very short preview of the sequel as chapter 38, so please vote for it on my profile! (Any votes submitted as reviews will not be counted.)**

 **For now, I'll be writing mostly one-shots. The sequel should be posted in July or August.**

 **If you have any big ideas for the sequel, PM me or leave a review (for the last time, I won't pay attention to any ideas including the rest of the Seven or Heroes of Olympus)! If you have any one-shot requests (check out my profile for the rules) PM me with** **details!**

 **Thanks once more for all the support! You are all lovely people and I'm glad you got me through this thing. I would have given up otherwise! But fear not, for I will be back again soon! Reviews are welcome!**

 **PeridotPi**


	38. Chapter 38: Preview

**A/N: I apologize in advance.**

 **POV: Draco**

 _Disclaimer: Nope…_

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"Draco!" I winced as my father yelled my name up the stairs. Studying for N.E.W.T.-level courses was hard enough as it was without him screaming for me to come down the stairs.

The first week of the summer holiday was not going well. After I had talked to Potter about Rachel and the Dark side of my family, I had already solidified the decision that I would never become a Death Eater. Not in a million years. I suspected my father had an inkling of it, especially after the events at the Ministry last May. I'd willingly fought with the other Death Eaters, making sure to hide my face in my cloak, but father had known it was me.

Which was why I'd had to perform a minor Memory Charm on him to prevent him from turning me over immediately. You-Know-Who, I hoped, had not recognized me upon the quetzalcoatl's back when we fled the Ministry.

I knew that should my father ever find out my decision, he would have to disown me to please his master. Father loved me, and I loved him, but to escape death and torture from the Dark Lord, he would do anything. I'd been raised with the notion that muggleborns were bad blood, literally. But I'd never been raised to believe they were so bad that they all had to be _exterminated_.

My father, I had been able to tell since I was really young, was utterly relieved by the Dark Lord's fall. Now, though, since _he_ had returned, my father had been jumpy, constantly eyeing everyone suspiciously, scaring when a mouse stirred, and yelling at me all the time.

"DRACO!" he yelled once more, but this time I could hear the terror in his voice. Wondering why he sounded so worried, I groaned, put my head against the dark wood desk in my green room, and stood up to go downstairs.

The first thing I noticed was that it was cold. And very dim.

It was light and sunny and warm outside, and contrary to popular belief, our house was well-heated and full of light too. But right now, it was dark. I descended the freezing marble steps, very suddenly aware of how bare my feet were, looking out the big window next to the stairs as I did so. It was thundering and raining heavily outside.

In the parlor stood our old house elf, Tracy, shivering in terror. My father stood next to her, trying to look stoic but obviously hiding his own terror. It didn't take long to figure out why.

At the head of the polished black mahogany dining table was a man, cloaked in black, running long fingers tipped with filthy, sharp fingernails over a wand. His face was hidden by the cloak until he pulled it back, revealing a chalk-white face, red eyes with slitted pupils, and snake-like nostrils.

"Hello, _Draco,"_ he said in a voice as cold as the room itself, twirling his wand. My feet were numb from the marble underneath them.

Father turned to look at me. "Draco, have a seat. We have a few things to discuss."

I froze. _I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it_ , my mind chanted by itself. They were going to ask me to join the Death Eaters.

But years of being raised as a Malfoy were well-spent on me. Acting perfectly, I reached for the closest chair, pulled it out, and sat down.

"Draco, as you are well-aware—"

"No need for that, Lucius," the man at the end of the table snapped. "There is no need to go around in circles. If you won't get to the point, then I will."

I felt a tugging on the edge of my mind, and instantly snapped down my Occlumency barriers to prevent the Dark Lord from entering my mind. It was with good reason that Snape had started to teach me secretly when I was only ten.

He sneered at me, realizing immediately what I'd done. Of course, the Dark Lord was an incredible Legilimens, and he recognized it when someone was trying to hide something.

Fortunately for me, I was well-educated in the art of Occlumency. I used my mind to put up the illusion that I had lowered my barriers once again and pushed thoughts of joining the Dark Side, getting the Dark Mark, and a little bit of fear into the front of my mind for the wizard to read.

Apparently, he was fooled. He smiled cruelly. "I don't think there's anything to worry, about, Lucius, as your son seems… quite inspired already." My father breathed an obvious sign of relief. "We can arrange the date to give him the Mark to be soon, if you quite consent?"

It wasn't really a question so much as a threat.

"I was wondering if…" Voldemort turned his red eyes on me, but I kept up the barriers and false smile, "we could do it right now?"

My fake smile fell. _NO._

And suddenly I knew that Voldemort had never been fooled by my Occlumency. Snapping up my barriers in the beginning had been a very severe mistake. He'd seen me at the Ministry and known it was me, fighting against his own Death Eaters.

My father was looking back and forth, terrified. "Draco…?"

I looked back at him and hissed lowly but didn't speak.

Voldemort laughed, high and cold and unforgiving. "But you don't really have a chance, now, do you, young Malfoy? Such a precious prize you are. You've got excellent skills in potions and transfiguration, your father tells me... and I can see for myself what an exceptionally skilled Occlumens you are. Snape, was it?"

I snarled back at him, but still didn't move.

He sighed dramatically. "I am afraid, my young Draco, that if you do not wish to comply with the Dark Lord's wishes, you must be punished." I drew my wand inconspicuously, hiding it in the hem of my robes. But of course he knew I'd pulled it out.

The red eyes flamed with anger and before I knew it, pain enveloped me whole. There was a far off screaming that I realized after a few minutes was my own. I knew what pain was. It was evil, and it was torturous, and I'd experienced it many, many times before, but none in this way. This wasn't just pain; it was agony.

Suddenly, the white-hot fire encasing my body vanished without a trace. I looked up to see the Dark wizard standing a few feet away. His snake, the snake that basically killed Rachel, was slithering towards me very slowly, a dark shadow with glowing red eyes like its master's.

I didn't think I'd ever been more terrified.

I stumbled away from the snake and him and stood up shakily. "Impressive," he said, cocking his head just the slightest bit as to seem curious. "But we are far from being done, Draco."

This time, he did not cast a Cruciatus Curse at me. Instead, he walked over, put a freezing charm on my body, and flicked his wand several times. I did not realize what had happened until my feet began to burn from pain. The bone of my heel was sticking out through them. The man in front of me had just used magic to rip the soles of my feet off of my body.

He sliced his wand through the air once more. The skin over my chest was slashed open and began to bleed heavily.

Another wand movement, still no words. Both of my arms broke with a hideous _crack_.

I couldn't look away, but I began praying. To someone, to anyone. I was sorry for everything I'd ever done. For any pain I'd ever inflicted upon another person. For any bullying I'd oppressed others with.

My left leg broke. Voldemort sent an Imperius Curse my way and I stood up and walked over to him on that broken leg. I felt like I was going to die. I hoped I would.

He grabbed my arm and pulled it towards his wand, and I already knew what was going to happen.

I gathered what little resolve I had and broke the curses on me. " _NEVER!"_ I screamed before the wand could touch my forearm.

Voldemort looked at me for a split second, bewildered.

I took advantage of the small time I had and ran. Ran out of that filthy house, where I never wanted to be again, and _accio_ 'd my broom… the rain outside poured onto my face, drenching me in mere moments as lightning flashed. My arms hurt like hell, my leg was not supposed to be stood on, but I kept running.

It was too late. Voldemort was already there, pointing a deadly wand at me. If I was going to disappear, it couldn't be with my broom.

Frantically, I twisted on the spot like I'd seen my mother and father do on multiple occasions, focusing as hard as I could to think of a place other than here, anywhere, _anywhere…_

When a force squeezed my throat, I thought that Voldemort had gotten a hand around me. But soon I realized I was flying through compressing darkness, and I thought hard on the first place that popped into my head…

I landed scrambling, stumbling and fell on my face. It was only then I realized the blood pouring out of my body and the pain that came with it, and I screamed as hard as I could into the rain still coming down.

A yell was the last thing I heard. Concerned amber eyes were the last thing I saw.

And then I fell into darkness.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Thanks once more for all the support you've given me for this story!**


	39. Update

**A/N UPDATE: Hello! I just realized that I failed to post an update on this story telling you when the sequel to We Stand Together was up. Well, it's up (since July, and now it's almost December). It's called When Lines Divide Us, and chapter 9 will be up soon, so go on and R &R!**


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